Predator Turned Prey
by JourneyKat
Summary: Alex had a great life until her mom makes her move to Washington to be with her distant Quileute relatives. Now she has to deal with a new place, new weather, a new school, new people, and frustrating hot flashes that make her want to explode! Rated T for Tons of cursing.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Long time no see! I've been trying to get back into writing and decided that Twilight is the way to go. I've gotten almost obsessed with it lately. I love the Quileute shifters but I love the Volturi the most! Aro's silly, pffft. (Marcus is my favorite, though. Don't tell Aro.)**

 **I probably won't update Secrets are a Terrible Burden or Forgotten. I'm not really interested in Zelda stuff anymore. My interests change rather quickly. Haha sorry, Ghirahim!**

 **Btw, I deleted The Last Thing I Would Want because… BLEH. Smh at my 15 year old self for so many spelling errors and general stupidity. I don't even have a copy of it saved anymore. GOOD. Don't ask me to put it back up or rewrite it. It just needs to go away. Sorry if you liked it.**

 **If you've never seen me before, erm, hi there. Disregard most of the stuff I just said.**

 **If I use too many commas, then I'm sorry. I think I'm using them properly but idk. :P**

* * *

 _"Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet_

 _Machine guns ready to go_

 _Are you ready? Hey are you ready for this?_

 _Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?_

 _Out of the doorway the bullets rip_

 _To the sound of the beat_

 _Another one bites the dust_

 _Another one bites the dust_

 _And another one gone, and another one gone_

 _Another one bites the dust_

 _Hey, I'm gonna get you too_

 _Another one bites the dust"_ \- Queen, Another One Bites the Dust.

* * *

Chapter One

My feet swept swiftly along the dirt trail as I ran. The rhythmic thuds were almost lulling me into a trance. However, I couldn't allow that to happen. I needed to focus more than ever. I needed to find her, so I pushed myself to go faster.

All the others I came across were long gone. The only remaining one was her, and I knew she was here somewhere. A freshly scuffed patch of soil came into view and that told me I was close. But how close? How far ahead was she? The trail seemed to go on and on. Maybe I would never catch up to her...

Then, in the distance, I finally spotted my prey. I was so close to catching her, yet so far. I was tired as well. So, so tired. My calves were burning, but I knew I was almost caught up to her.

 _I have to keep going._

I forced my legs to pump as fast as they could go while remaining as silent as possible. Silence would be key in catching her. She wouldn't hear me until it was too late. A wicked smile spread across my lips as I envisioned victory. A victory which would be most unlucky for her.

I was soon close enough to touch her. The girl heard my breathing and quiet footfalls and she rocketed forward in shock. The girl hadn't expected me. Good. Adrenaline must be pouring through her veins. It would wear off soon and hopefully leave her shaky and breathless. That's when I could make my move. I kept myself as close behind her as I could manage, making sure she wouldn't go too far. I didn't want to lose her when we were so close to ending this.

 _Keep moving. Keep breathing. Run harder. I told myself inside my head, If you slow down even a little, she'll win._

I snarled at the thought of her winning instead of me and thrust myself forward even faster. The girl responded by increasing her speed as well. Determination filled every fiber of my being as I raced neck and neck with her. She couldn't win! No one could win against me when I was this determined! She was going down.

Each breath bathed my lungs in scorching heat. My leg muscles felt as though they were being scalded and torn apart. The throbbing of my pulse in my ears was deafening and painful. The girl was letting out cries of discomfort each time she breathed out. We felt such torment and both our bodies begged for relief, though only one of us would continue and succeed.

Everything abruptly turned into slow motion as the girl tried to dart in front of me, but tripped over her own fast moving legs. Her spikes cut her leg and left a shallow gash on her calf. I would have tripped over her and gotten cut on her spikes too if I hadn't made a split second decision to leap over her while she was still falling. Once I hurdled and scarcely cleared her, the slow motion stopped and I was suddenly going very fast again. It was dizzying. Sudden enthusiastic shrieks sobered me up as spectators caught sight of me. They drowned out the noises of the girl sobbing and retching behind me. I was in the lead and almost to the finish.

I felt like an excited dog that saw their owner after a long day. But instead of jumping around like a happy puppy, I made myself sprint as fast I could. My coach began shouting at me as he saw me near the finish line.

"That's it, Al! Push, girl! Push! All the way to the finish! You got this! She's behind you, Al! Go!" he shouted as I raced by him.

I knew there was no way anyone was behind me. The girl I just passed had a face full of gravel and a cut leg. She probably threw up, too. Nevertheless, I pushed myself like he said to. I wanted to beat my personal record, which was 15:46. I didn't think it was possible, but I managed to go even faster when I saw the finish line. I don't think I'd even gone this fast in track! As I dashed over the finish, I caught a glimpse of the timer out of the corner of my eye.

It was 14:57 and my fastest 5k time ever.

* * *

" _Alex?!_ " I jumped when my mom shouted at me, then I gave her a glare.

"You weren't listening to me, hon! Don't give me that look!" she said sternly, "Were you having an episode?"

"No, mom! Sheesh, I was just lost in thought." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Okay, babe. As I was saying, make sure you double check that you have everything! Put the rest of your boxes downstairs so they get loaded into the van. Then let me know when you're done." My mom ordered me.

I knew where to put these stupid boxes! She didn't need to lecture me about it 20 times! A familiar heat crawled up my spine and I went rigid. I didn't move and concentrated on calm, happy thoughts. I hated all these stupid hot flashes.

 _Stupid hormones. Stupid genes._

I glared down at the box and realized I was gripping the edges super hard. I released them and saw they were bent. Whoops. I gave a solemn look at the contents within it. Inside was my trophy from the day I reminisced about. I got a medal, too, but my team got a trophy for having runners with the best times. My coach let me keep it after it was displayed because I contributed the most effort.

I put a layer of bubble wrap over it and piled in my various medals and smaller trophies on top. Then I sealed it up and placed it with the other remaining boxes by my door.

My room was eerily bare and I wanted all the furniture back. I wished I could stay here. This was my home! I grew up here! I met most of my friends here and I've been their friend since I was like four!

I hate my mom. This is her fault! She got a new job in Seattle and now we have to move there because of her. To make matters worse, she contacted some of my relatives near there. I'm like, 1/ 3 Native American. Probably less. Who cares?! My dad had a little bit of Quileute lineage and my mom was really into that when they dated. Ugh.

I don't even look Quileute! My skin's as pale as my mom's and I have dark blonde hair. My grandma called it 'dishwater blonde'. Gross. I'd rather stick with calling it dark blonde, thank you very much.

Everyone says my eyes are blue, but they look dark grey to me. I would love to have sky-blue eyes like models in ads. Blue is such a pretty color, but too bad for me. My genes flipped me the bird and didn't make me as hot as I could have been.

I don't even have pretty cheekbones. The only thing that suggests Native American genes is my eyebrows. They're thick, dark, disgusting, and stand out against my light skin. If I had to change one part of me, it would be that. I tried plucking them but it doesn't make them stand out any less vibrantly. Ugh, they're so ugly!

I was so hot now that it felt like steam was rolling off of me. Anger boiled up inside me and I suddenly punched the wall. It left a dent. The pain from the impact just made me even more angry!

"Alex?!" I heard my mom from downstairs.

"Shut up, mom!" I screamed at her. She knows that name pisses me off! It's a boy's name! I'm a girl!

I heard her run up the stairs and she opened my door.

"Calm down, hon. You're gonna make yourself sick." She said soothingly. It sounded mocking to me, though.

"This move is making me sick! You're making me sick! This is your fault!" I had a sudden urge to punch her like I did to the wall.

That urge snapped me back to reality. I took a deep breath.

 _I don't want to hurt her. Happy thoughts, Ali. Fucking pull yourself together._

"Good now?" My mom hummed.

I nodded.

"You done in here? Did you double check?"

"No, but can you bring a box downstairs for me?" I asked.

"Ali, I already have enough to do. You can get it. You're young and strong." She petted my head and walked out.

It felt like a giant mosquito came by and sucked all the emotions out of me when she brushed me off like that. I robotically checked the room one last time and started bringing my boxes down one by one.

Those anger inducing hot flashes were something my Quileute relatives were interested in. My mom started talking to some lady called Clear Water or something and when she told her about my "episodes", as she calls them, Clear Water freaked out a little.

Clear Water told my mom that it could be from a genetic illness and that I had to go to the reservation to get it treated. At first my mom was like, "Nooo," but when they offered us a free place to stay at the Quileute Reservation because I was part Quileute, the penny pincher had a change of heart.

Personally, I think the genetic illness crap is because of my extra chromosome. No, I don't have down syndrome, you asshole. A while ago, my mom saw a commercial on TV that gave you a DNA kit. They'd send you a kit that lets you swab your cheek and put it in a vial. Then you'd send it back and they'd test it for you. Of course, my mom thought it would be a great way to get in touch with my roots or some shit. She ordered it, made me swab my cheek, and sent it in. When the results came back, they said I had an extra chromosome.

My mom made me to go to various geneticists and doctors to make sure I was alright. At first, they thought it was down syndrome. However, the extra chromosome was not a copy of chromosome 21. It was an entirely new chromosome. The extra chromosome didn't appear to make me any different, so they wrote it off as the result of a harmless genetic mutation. My mom didn't buy that. She payed them to do more research, and they did. What the doctors found was that the extra chromosome was not in every one of my cells, only the majority. So there are still a few of my cells that are normal. That made me what was called a genetic mosaic, or chimera.

My mom was having trouble getting pregnant with my dad (ew) after they got married and they tried in vitro fertilization. My mom had two eggs in her uterus at once and they were both fertilized. One had the extra chromosome, and one was normal. The two zygotes fuzed together and created me, a genetic mosaic/chimera/ _whatever._ Too bad my dad didn't get to see me grow up to be a freak. He died in a car crash before I was born.

I guess the stupid Quileutes can have extra chromosomes that give them hot flashes too. Sometimes, mine make me shaky. Sometimes they make me angry. When both happen, it feels like I'm going to fucking explode! When they get bad like that, I spray water in my face with the kitchen sink. It cools me down enough to regain control of myself think happy thoughts.

"Ali! Are you done yet?!" My mom yelled from downstairs.

I quickly snatched up a box and ran to the stairs.

"Mom! I literally just started bringing them down!" I yelled back.

 _Bitch..._

I went down the stairs as quickly and carefully as I could with a box in my hands and set it down in front of the door. Downstairs was basically a madhouse. Like, three guys were all carrying heavy junk to the moving van. One tried to take my box but I growled and pulled away.

"I'm bringing more down! I want you to put them in at the same time so they're all together!" I snapped at him.

He gave me a snooty look and scoffed, "Okay".

 _Fucking prick._

Once I finished bringing all the boxes down I let two of the guys take them. The other guy was holding a houseplant and tried to go out at the same time they did. He crushed the leaves a little against the doorframe.

"Don't hurt my plant, twat." I snarled quietly under the ruckus in the house.

The man's head whirled around in surprise and he looked embarrassed.

 _Shit, I must have said that too loud._

I looked at him nonchalantly.

 _What? Me? You think I said that? Pfft, nah._

Now I was embarrassed, too. I turned away as innocently as I could and went to look for my mom. Believe it or not, I found her STILL packing. After yelling at me 10 times to get my stuff packed and downstairs, she wasn't even ready.

I angrily stared at her as intensely as I could until she noticed me.

"Oh! There you are, babe! You done?"

"Yeah, like 5 minutes ago."

"Good! Can you carry my stuff to the door so the men can get it?"

My nostrils flared and I grit my teeth.

"Mmhmm. Sure." I snatched up a box and stomped out.

 _She screams at me a bunch to carry my stuff downstairs and she's not even ready herself. Then she makes me carry her stuff, too?! What the hell?!_

I stomped to the front door and dropped the box near it. Then I did the same to the other boxes until my mom was working on the last one. Impatiently, I swayed back and forth on the balls of my feet and tried desperately to hold back a hot flash as I waited for her slow ass.

Finally, she finished the last box and I grabbed it as soon as she finished taping it.

"Ali, do you have your bag ready?" She called after me.

"I got it in the car, mom!" I replied and handed the box to a moving guy.

Duh. You watched me put it there.

"Okay! Wait in the car for me and I'll-" I didn't listen to what else she had to say. I was out the door already because she couldn't keep up. It's her fault if it was important.

I waited for her in the car like she said and texted all my friends that I was leaving soon. If they wanted to come by and say goodbye, now was their chance to stall us.

No one came by the time my mom got to the car. Not even my neighbor/best friend. I guess she's sleeping in today…

So we left.

* * *

 **Maybe no one came because you're such a bitch, Alex. Jeez.**

 **Just kidding, lol.**

 **Anyways, yeah. Ali is kind of a bitch right now. Her full name is Alex, but she likes to be called Ali or Al because she thinks Alex is a boy name. But Alex is unisex and Al is even more masculine... Perfect logic.**

 **At this stage, Ali is frustrating me just as much as she's probably frustrating you. She's a teenage girl who's got more privileges than she realizes and she's semi-popular in high school. That means she's exposed to some negative influences that make her have sort of an attitude. Plus she's getting these annoying hot flashes that make unusually hostile. Hm, I wonder why she's having those!**

 **Yes, Quileute wolf shapeshifters do have an extra chromosome. It probably stores all their wolfy info. Carlisle found that out after he creeped on Jacob's DNA, and vampires have two extra chromosomes! Oh boy, ain't that fascinatin'?! Alright, I admit I'm a geek who spends too much time on the Twilight wiki. I'll shut up now. XD**

 **Oops, I lied about shutting up.**

 **Leave a review if you want. I used to leave reviews but now I'm too self conscious… Darn teenage awkwardness! Making me second-guess what I have to say… That's partly why I took so long to get writing again… Grrrr… Ellipses… Heh.**

 **Alright, I'm seriously shutting up for real now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't know about you, but I usually don't pay attention to song lyrics in fanfictions. So I totally feel you if you just skip over them. I do it too. I usually skip or skim over author's notes too.**

 **Thank you for suggesting a title, Rain girl 19! I have one now, though yours was pretty good.**

 **I figured out why you had trouble with the distinction between thoughts and narration, Crazy Lady Wolf. They were supposed to be italicized, but when I pasted the story into the document manager, it got messed up. The author's notes were supposed to be bold, too. It should all be fixed now!**

* * *

 _"I am not as fine as I seem_

 _Pardon, me for yelling and telling you green gardens_

 _Are not what's growing in my psyche, it's a different me_

 _A difficult beast feasting on burnt down trees._

 _Freeze frame, please let me paint a mental picture portrait._

 _Something you won't forget, it's all about my forehead_

 _And how it is a door that holds back contents_

 _That makes Pandora's box contents look non-violent"_ \- Twenty One Pilots, Migraine.

* * *

Chapter 2

I narrowed my eyes at the shoddy little shack in front of me.

 _This is where I'm going to be living? Here?! That Clear Water lady has to be joking._

Mom went inside ages ago, but I was still frozen in fury to this spot beside the car. The "house" was tiny compared to our original home. It had faded, light blue siding and weird green splotches on it here and there. It looked like fungus and I prayed it wasn't mold. Hopefully, it was just moss or something.

"How cute!" My mom had chirped when we first pulled up.

I wondered if the car windows were distorting the house and making it look shittier than it actually was. Once I stepped out, though, I was wrong. It looked even worse.

Heat flashed up my spine and my cheeks began to burn. I let out a quiet growl and took a deep breath, preparing to calm myself if it got any worse. Luckily, it didn't because a cold droplet landed on my cheek and snapped me out of it. Then another, and another, and another until it was pouring down rain.

 _Are you fucking kidding me?_

We just got here and the weather was already being a cunt. I would be scorching right now if it wasn't for the rain keeping me cool. It actually felt kinda nice, but I wasn't going to admit that and give myself even the tiniest excuse to like this place.

"Ali! Baby! Come inside! You have to see how cozy it is in here!" My mom ran out on the porch excitedly and let out a yelp when rain pounded her head, "Holy-! Alex, you get inside right now! You're going to get sick!"

"Fine." I grumbled and stomped towards the porch.

Doing that, I unintentionally splashed water all over my pant legs and sneakers. It would be a bitch to have this cold water all over my legs. There was no way I was going barefoot (or pant-less) in that gross house. My mom only liked this termite nest because it was free. Once inside, I realized it was a cabin. The scummed siding covered it up.

"Look, look! It has a fireplace!" Mom pointed excitedly at a tiny fireplace in the living room.

I rolled my eyes but said,"Cool." to humor her.

"Look at these pretty wooden floors! We're definitely keeping these. We should replace the carpets, though. They're a bit faded. That's a nice couch! It's so kind how they gave us some furniture. Doesn't it look rustic? I like this look. We should-"

I sat down the "rustic" couch and took out my phone as my mom went on and on about how much she loved our free home.

"Oh! I need to call Sue! I'll call her from the house phone. Well, if it works. Let's see!" She grabbed a dated phone off the wall from the kitchen and began punching in "Sue's" number.

Oh, right, that was Clear Water's first name: Sue Clear Water.

"You do that." I said.

I can give the most thoughtless and uncreative input to my mom and she wouldn't care. As long as I made a noise, she thought I was listening.

Apparently the phone worked because my mom was making excited conversation after a few moments. I didn't care to listen because I was paying attention to my own phone. Nobody texted me throughout the whole car trip, which was about 2 days. I originally lived in Nevada.

Miraculously, now I had a few texts from my bestie and a guy who thought he had a chance with me. I forgot to tell him I was moving. Haha, oops. I'd tell him later.

My best friend was a girl named Kirsten. Kirsten lives- I mean- lived next to me ever since I could remember.

 _ **"Sorry was busy. Miss u girl!"**_ \- Kirsten

The first one was from a few hours ago. I spent that time looking out the window at all the grayness in Seattle, looking at the building my mom was going to be working at, and listening to music.

The last text was recent.

 _ **"Lol. Guess ur busy now! Text me whenever."**_ \- Kirsten

I texted back, _**"Not busy now. How u doing? Washington is sucky!"**_

Then I checked the ones from the guy who kept hitting on me. I forgot his name. Scanning over our previous conversation, I saw it was Dustin. I don't think I've ever heard a douchier name in my life.

 _ **"Hey cutie ;)"**_ \- Dustin

It was only that one text from him. I responded with, _**"Hey."**_

Kirsten texted back almost immediately after I sent the text to Dustin. My mom shook my knee to get my attention before I could respond to her.

"Sue will be here in a few minutes." she informed me.

"Mhm, okay." I replied and went back to texting.

After a few more minutes of texting about the atrocities of Washington, I heard the door open and looked up. A woman in a yellow rain coat walked in.

"Sure is coming down out there." She sighed.

 _That must be Sue._

She pulled down her hood and shook out her long black hair. Her skin was very tan and she had those pretty cheekbones I wished I'd inherited.

"Sue!" My mother squealed and rushed to greet her.

"Ellen! Great to meet you in person." Sue smiled and they shook hands, "Is that Alex?"

"Ali." I corrected and gave a small wave. I didn't move from the couch.

Suddenly, a boy ran in and nearly smacked into Sue.

"Gah, I'm wet!" He complained and wiped water out of his short black hair.

"I told you to bring a raincoat." Sue scolded him. He was obviously her son.

"I did!"

"A hoodie is not a coat! Now you're soaked."

My mom laughed awkwardly at the argument and the boy sulked for a second. He muttered an apology to Sue before he noticed me.

"Oh, hey! I'm Seth!" He walked over to me happily.

"Ali." I responded.

Seth looked like he was a few years younger than me. His skin wasn't as tan and his cheeks were more round and less pronounced than Sue's. His cheeks gave him a carefree, childish look. He also had round, dark eyes that enhanced his innocent appearance. He looked kinda cute. More in the puppy dog way, though.

"Neat! So how do you like the house?" Seth grinned and sat down next to me.

"It's alright." I shrugged and tried to go back to texting, implying that I didn't feel like talking.

He didn't take the hint and rambled on.

"Was it a tough move? I can't imagine leaving La Push. I've lived here forever. We gotta go to the beach sometime! It's nice there. Maybe that'll cheer you up if you're not sure about Washington."

While Seth basically forced me to talk to him, our parents started chatting behind us, mainly about weather conditions.

"Beach? Here?" I asked incredulously to dodge his first question.

It was so cold and wet here that I doubted there was a "nice" beach.

"Yeah! It's not warm enough to swim in most of the time, but there's lots of driftwood and seashells and stuff to collect. We could make sand castles, too!"

 _Is he trying to ask me out? He's a bit young for me…_

"That sounds pretty fun." I shrugged again, "But I don't know."

"Well, maybe when you're more situated. Plus, it wouldn't be like a date or anything! I mean, we just met."

 _Thank goodness._

"Alright, maybe." I smiled.

Actually, he was probably the nicest person I'd talked to in a long time.

"We moved all the way out here and you're not going to do anything about it?!" My mom shrieked from behind me.

Seth and I both jumped and looked at my hysteric mother.

"What? Mom?" I asked, confused at her behavior.

 _What the fuck, mom?_

"Seth, go get my bag out of the car." Sue said quickly.

"Huh?" Seth replied.

"Go!"

"Okay, geez!" He threw his hands up defensively and walked out the door.

When he was out of the house, Sue turned toward my mom again.

"We can't treat it. We don't know if she even has it. We won't know until she… Experiences a new symptom. She'll know if it happens."

"Hot flashes?" I asked.

"No," Sue shook her head, "Trust me, you'll know if it happens. If it does, call me and let me know. It might not, but you seriously need to call me if it does.

"Okay?" I was really confused.

"No! You can't just lure us out here and not help her!" Mom spat at Sue.

"I can't do anything about it. I can only help if the last symptom shows up." Sue shook her head.

"Why didn't you say this before?! Why can't you tell me what it is? Can you at least tell her?!"

"No, I can't tell either of you. I may not even have to because what she could be experiencing is unusual even for Quileutes. I have my reasons and I'm very sorry. You have a free home on the reservation, but you could leave if you're truly unhappy staying here." Sue challenged.

My mom pursed her lips then sighed, "You're right. I'm being uncivil. It's kind of you to offer us this lovely home. I apologize for being so ornery. I'm just worried about Alex."

 _It's Ali, mom. You fucking know that!_

"Mom, I can't find your bag." Seth opened the door, soaking wet again.

"I think I left it at home." Sue responded.

Seth gave her a look and I bet he wanted to say, "What the fuck, mom?!" like I wanted to before. He sat down next to me again and groaned at his wet clothing. Our parents went back to talking civilly.

"I should have listened to my mom about the raincoat. Want a hug?" He joked and held out his soggy arms.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm wet enough." I leaned away and gestured to my damp feet.

"Dang, okay. Not good at dodging puddles?" Seth joked.

"Yup. In Nevada, we don't have many puddles. Mostly rocks."

We had a fun conversation and the adults warmed up to each other again after my mom stopped being a psycho. Seth helped me pick out my room, which was closest to the living room and bathroom. My mom approved my choice. It seemed like a long time before my mom made them leave.

"Oh! The moving van should be here soon. Best to stand clear, it will be hectic! "My mother informed Sue, "But we can handle it. We're tough city girls."

"Come on, Seth. We're leaving." Sue called to Seth.

"What? Already?" Seth pouted.

"Yes, it's been a few hours. We should leave them to get settled." Sue looked at me and gave a small smile. "It's good that the kids hit it off."

"Yeah! Can't wait to see you at school!" Seth grinned at me.

I smiled back, "Yeah."

"Actually, she's going to Forks." My mom cut in with a smirk.

"Forks?! No, that may not be a good idea with her condition." Sue gasped.

"What? Forks?" I questioned, just as surprised as Seth and Sue.

 _That dinky little hick town we passed? Ew._

I'd rather go to Seth's school and have at least one friend, even if he was younger than me.

"Yes, Forks. I-I didn't realize the reservation had a school and looked up the schools in this area. I enrolled her and she starts M-Monday." Mom tried to sound sheepish but I knew she was lying.

She was doing this to get back at Sue for not telling us more about my disease. Couldn't she just leave it alone? They were being as generous as they could.

Sue seemed to sense my mother's intentions as well and narrowed her eyes.

"Fine." She scowled bitterly and walked out the door.

Seth was stunned at his mom's sudden coldness and stared at her as she left. Then he realized that he needed to follow her and waved goodbye.

"See ya… hopefully." He half smiled at me and closed the door behind him, heading off into the rain again.

Poor kid. He was going to catch a cold or something from getting wet so often. I turned to my mom and glared at her. She stared back, unashamed.

"You're not going to date him."

"No, duh! He's way younger than me." I growled at her, "But you just have to ruin everything for me, don't you?"

"S-sorry, I made an honest mistake-"

"No, you didn't! You did that on purpose! You don't have me enrolled anywhere yet, do you?!"

"N-no! I enrolled you at Forks! I-I had no idea there was a school in La Push!" She tried to deny it but she always stuttered when she lied.

I couldn't stand being near her anymore and shrieked at her, "Don't talk to me!"

Then I stomped into my room and slammed the door. There was no furniture, save for a worn oak dresser against the wall.. I contemplated moving it against the door, but decided against it. Instead, I sat against its side away from the door. If someone came in, they wouldn't see me at first glance. There was a closet in the wall I was facing now, but hiding in there would be too dramatic and stupid.

I shakily took out my phone and started crying. I texted Kirsten and told her I wanted to call her. She told me she couldn't call right now, but we could just text. So I vented to her about how awful the weather was and how nice Seth was and how much of a bitch my mom was being. I hadn't cried like this in a long time.

 _Fuck my mom._

Talking to my best friend calmed me down eventually. Soon we were talking about pointless things to keep my mind off of my sucky day. However, she stopped replying after an hour or so and I was left staring at my phone. Dustin hadn't texted me back yet and now I sort of wished that he would. I needed to talk to someone, anyone to get my mind off of this. I slipped the phone into my pocket and leaned my head back against the side of the dresser. After that, I tried my best not to think.

I thought anyways. My mind raced and soon tears were streaming down my face again.

 _Why? Why can't my mom ever listen to me? Couldn't she see that I loved Nevada? She should've stayed with her old job instead of forcing me to move to a terrible place like this. She should've left Sue's mysterious motives unquestioned because now she hates us. She should've let me go to the same school as Seth so I'd have a friend._

An aggressive fire suddenly sparked up my spine.

 _This is all her fault._

My upper lip curled up above my teeth and I let out a low growl.

 _Fuck her._

The heat became more intense and I gasped. My scowl turned into a grimace. Warmth radiated out from my cheeks and my hands started shaking.

Oh no. This is bad one. I need to calm down.

I took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. It didn't calm me down. My heart thrummed rapidly and my vibrating body was making me sick.

I need to spray water in my face. Now!

I jumped up from the floor and ran to the door. I was about to open it when I heard my mother talking on the phone in a hushed tone.

"Yes, she can definitely start on Monday. Thank you so much."

 _She called Forks High School. I knew she was lying._

I swung the door open loudly and marched to the bathroom sink, refusing to look my mother in the eye. She quickly hung up the phone as I walked into the bathroom. This sink didn't have a spray nozzle like the kitchen sink, so I just turned on the cold water and stuck my head underneath the faucet. Cold water gushed over my face and I let out a relieved sigh as it washed away the heat.

"You feeling better, hon?" My mom appeared in the doorway.

I turned off the water and pulled my head out of the sink.

Then I looked her squarely in the eye and grumbled, "Screw you." After that I pushed past her to head back to my room.

I wanted to say a much nastier word, but thought better of it.

"Ali! Don't speak to me like that and get back here! The moving men will be here soon!" My mom gasped, appalled.

"You said that an hour ago!"

"That means they'll be here any second, then!"

"I don't care. I'll carry my own shit in."

I slammed the door and didn't care if she disliked my language. She could go fuck herself for lying to me and Sue. Once the door was closed, I didn't feel like sitting behind the dresser again. The floor was uncomfortable, so I just stood there and listened to my mom through the thin walls.

She sighed and I heard something scrape. She probably sat down in a chair. Then I heard her humming a melancholy tune.

I realized that with these thin walls, she probably heard me crying.

 _Shit._

* * *

 **Annnnnd I'll just end the chapter here. I wrote most of this late at night, probably around 2am on multiple nights. I get insomnia sometimes.**

 **I'm constantly going to be updating this story, btw. So if you spot a typo somewhere, it's going to magically disappear after a while! This is probably the hardest I've ever worked on a story.**

 **Tbh, I originally had a different start to this chapter. Alex was in the car with her mom, remembering a crappy hotel they stayed at as they drove through Seattle. That was too meticulous, though, so I scrapped it and started over. I don't want to draw this story out more than I need to. I want to get to the action as much as you do!**

 **I literally thought of a title like five minutes after I posted this chapter, complaining about not having a title. XD Ironically, I thought of it while texting my friend, Alex. Alex is a boy, though. I didn't name Alex after him, I just wrote down a bunch of names on a piece of paper and eliminated the cheesy, unrealistic names I didn't like until it was down to Alex.**

 **Leah hasn't come in yet, and she won't for a long time. However, she will eventually play a big part in this story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter took me forever to start writing. I kept getting distracted and had too much to do, ugh. Things finally calmed down, so here it is! I don't have a set day or review amount that will make me update, I just post when I can.**

 **I actually have reasons why the council isn't telling them, lightbabe. Alex is feeling different symptoms from the other Quileute wolves when they first started to phase. She hasn't had a growth spurt and instead of having a fever, she gets hot flashes. Leah has not phased yet either, so they don't even know if girls can phase. They suspected that Alex might, but aren't 100% sure. Either way, she has Quileute blood, so offering her a place to stay is still a nice thing to do. I edited the dialogue in Chapter 2 so Sue doesn't freak out as much. Thank you for pointing out a supposed plot hole!**

 **Enjoy these song lyrics. Idk.**

* * *

 _"I can feel the city crumbling around me_

 _I can't seem to find my way_

 _But I can see a bright light calling through dark night_

 _Hoping I'll find my way"_ \- Madeon, The City

* * *

Chapter 3

 _Please. Please not another week of this. Make the bus forget to pick me up today or something. Anything! I just want another day away. Please._

My first week was hell and I wasn't ready to face another one so soon. Lately, I've been avoiding my mother at all costs as well. I've hardly spoken to her since she enrolled me at Dorks- I mean Forks- High School. My first day there was stressful and confusing. Could they have a normal school building? Noooo! They had several buildings that you had to walk to and from every day. I'm definitely no stranger to exercise, but it was rainy and cold nearly every day. I don't think I took my jacket off once. I seriously needed to go shopping to get a waterproof one.

I would love to go with a friend, but uh oh! I don't have any… yet. Maybe I just haven't found the right person. A boy named Eric helped me find my way around for the first two days, but after that he left me to fend for myself. You know how small town people are supposedly nice? Well, not to me.

 _Whatever. It's not like I wanted the pizza-faced geek as my friend anyways._ I thought bitterly and shivered, glad that I was alone so no one could see me.

It was raining lightly this morning. Last night, it was worse and it kept me up. I was sure that there were dark circles under my eyes because of it. Okay, I admit the rain really wasn't what kept me up all night. It was really the fact that I messed my sleep schedule up beyond recognition. I stayed up all night to avoid my mom during the day. She was off on the weekends and I didn't want to spend any time with her. I don't care how many times she yelled at me to leave my room, I wasn't speaking to her.

I heard a loud, wheezing engine through the trees and knew the bus was coming for me.

 _Shit. Please be a truck or something._

My desperate pleading went unheard because sure enough, the bus grumbled to a stop in front of my house. I rose from my seat on the front porch and boarded the vehicle.

"It's killing me, coming out this far." The driver said with a playful tone.

I knew he meant it, though. My mom wouldn't take me to school because it would make her late for work. Sometimes it felt like she loves her job more than me.

"If you have a problem with this, you'll have to speak to my mother." I growled as I went to the very back. There was a seat there with only enough room for one person and I don't like sharing my seats with other people. Not since what happened on the first day.

"Brrrr." The driver mumbled.

He wasn't commenting on the weather, he was commenting on my frigid attitude and making fun of me. It actually shocked me that he would mock me like this. I shot him an intense glare of hatred and he immediately stopped.

"Ass." I said quietly, but loud enough so he could hear me.

Once I sat down, the bus was in motion and I was putting my earphones in. All the songs seemed too happy. I needed to buy some more mellow ones. These ones were giving me a headache. I had no reason to be happy. I had no friends and basically everyone hated me.

 _Why did I have to say anything?_

Maybe things would have been better if I hadn't cussed out a boy on the first day. It wasn't my fault, though. Not completely. He sat next to me and was horsing around with his friend in the seat across from us. His friend tried to take something from him, making him jump back and crash into me.

"Ack! Fucking prick! Watch it, dumbass!" I spat at him.

"Oh, so sorry. It was an accident, you know. Forgot you were there." He acted like he didn't just jump on me and that he did nothing wrong.

"You fucking crushed me, asshat! Maybe if you weren't so busy sucking your boyfriend's dick, you would have fucking noticed me. Have some consideration for others, twat!"

"Damn, she's got a mouth." His friend snorted.

"Shut the fuck up, moron!" I shouted to him, now shaking with fury. I suddenly wanted to punch them both in their mouths. That would shut them up.

"Haha, she's shaking." The boy laughed.

"Brrr!" His friend wrapped his arms around himself and pretended to shiver.

I was so mad I couldn't even speak. I just sat there, shaking with anger and giving them death glares. I was suddenly very hot and my cheeks heated up uncomfortably. Other kids were starting to laugh at me, too. I dropped my eyes in humiliation, but was unable to stop shaking. I scooted as close to the window as possible and leaned my face against the glass to cool down.

I thought that was the end of it, but I was wrong. It was raining hard the next day and Eric was helping me find my classes when the same boy from the bus saw me. Of course I was shivering; I was cold and wet.

"Brrrr!" The boy laughed obnoxiously and wrapped his arms around himself like his friend did.

"Fuck off!" I yelled at him.

He just snorted and continued on his way.

"What was that about?" Eric asked.

"Just some ass from the bus." I huffed and kept walking.

"Wait, are you Brrr Girl?" He sniggered.

"What? I guess." I shrugged and acted like I didn't care.

Really, I was screaming inside because somehow he knew about that. Stories spread faster in small towns than cities, it seemed.

Maybe that's why he stopped walking me to my classes, he didn't want to be seen with Brrr Girl, the human fridge. Maybe didn't like that I cussed so much. I thought he liked me. I guess not even a pizza-face wants to be my friend.

Tears pricked at my eyes, so I bit my cheek hard until I felt the skin being pierced. The pain distracted me enough to collect myself. I would not cry in public, ever.

Once we arrived at the school I headed to my first class with my head down, not looking at anyone. The wind was blowing straight into my face and I tried my best to suppress my shivering, but it was futile.

"Brrrrr." I heard a girl behind me taunt quietly. Others joined in and I stomped away furiously.

 _It's not my fault. I'm not used to this damn weather._

A strangely familiar sweet smell assaulted my nose and I gagged, looking up in contempt. A boy with shiny brown hair was walking in front of me on the sidewalk.

 _Too much cologne or something. Smells like he filled his bathtub up with cotton candy and rubbing alcohol and splashed around in it._

I almost laughed at the image I conjured up, but bit my cheek and grinned instead. He glanced back at me for a second but said nothing and kept walking. I recognized him from my biology class. He sat alone at the table across from me.

He must have heard me gag. Oops.

To be honest, he didn't really smell that bad. Now I felt kinda bad that he heard me. I hoped he didn't think he had BO or something, because it's literally the opposite. I wouldn't want him to feel like me-

 _Holy shit, I'm becoming empathetic._

I remembered all the kids I used to make fun of with my friends back home. I felt no remorse back then, but now I kinda did. I wondered if I could befriend a popular girl soon and go back to my old ways. I decided I gladly would, if I somehow managed to do that. Especially if it would get all these morons off my back.

The day, thankfully, passed quietly until Geometry Class, when I heard kids murmuring about a new girl they saw. She was in our grade. I tensed in my seat.

 _A new kid? Oh no, are they talking about me? Please, no. Please. I don't want another confrontation. I don't want to sink lower into this hellhole._

Luckily, I heard someone mention that she was the Police Chief's daughter and that she moved from Arizona. Apparently, she lived with her mom for a while and now she's living with her dad.

 _Oh, thank goodness._

I eased back down into my seat, grateful that they were distracted and weren't talking about me. Hopefully, they'd remain that way for the rest of the day. I hadn't noticed any new people, but I hadn't been here that long. Maybe people would leave me alone for a while and target her instead. I know that's mean, but I'm sick of being taunted for no damn reason. Maybe she would become the new Brrr Girl. After all, she's from a warm state like me. She might not be used to this weather either.

When I got to Biology class after lunch, I avoided eye contact with the boy I gagged at this morning. I sat down and took out my notebook, noticing the same strange sweet smell. The familiarity still baffled me. Then, suddenly, an intense hot flash tore through me.

 _God dammit. I didn't have any for a while. Why now? The boy I gagged at probably thinks I'm embarrassed. Focus on something else, focus on something else..._

I glanced around the room, desperate for relief. I eyed a water bottle at someone's table and contemplated stealing it to dump on my head. That would probably make me even more of a pariah, so I decided against it. There was a fan running at the front of the room, but I didn't want to act like a freak and stand there in front of the whole class. I don't even know why there was a fan here. It's cold as fuck all the time.

Luckily, something else caught my attention. The new girl walked in and stood in front of the fan while the teacher, Mr. Banner, handed "Bella", as she asked him to call her, a book. That was a nice name. Bella had medium length dark brown hair and was very pale. She had straight, thin eyebrows that I would kill for, too. Mr. Banner pointed to the only empty seat next to the shiny-haired boy and told her to sit there. Oh boy, she'd be sitting close to me.

 _She doesn't know about Brrr Girl… Maybe she could be my friend! Look at that, the hot flash died down. Praise the heavens!_

I decided to get up the courage to strike up a conversation with Bella before class started, but right as I turned to speak to her, the boy's hate filled glare stopped me. He wasn't looking at me, but at Bella. Alarms went off in my head as if something bad was about to happen. I froze, watching him glare at her, afraid that he would hit her or something.

Geez, what's his problem? Why her? She's not the one who made a gagging noise at him this morning. They've never even met before. What the hell, dude?!

Poor Bella looked taken aback, too. The boy was scooted as far away from her as possible and his nostrils were flaring. Bella avoided eye contact with him and sniffed at her hair. He either thought she smelled bad or he liked sitting alone and didn't want her sitting there. It wasn't her fault; That was the only empty seat in the room. I wondered if I could get the teacher to switch our seats so she could sit with me instead. Then my partner would have to deal with the angry boy instead. I think he would deserve it. He didn't want to do any of the work and I had to do basically all of it when we were in groups.

Mr. Banner started the class before I could ask. We learned more about cell anatomy. Ugh, I already learned about fucking mitochondria at my old school. I wrote down notes anyways. My partner liked to copy mine when he didn't feel like paying attention. He's such an ass.

When the class ended, the boy jumped out of his seat and was out the door before anyone else even stood up.

 _Jesus, he really hates her._

I was glad he didn't get physical, but I still felt bad for Bella. She leaned down to pick up her books and I suddenly decided to help her.

"Uh, hi." I said awkwardly as I handed her her books.

"Hi?" She said back.

"I'm Ali. You're Bella, right?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" A boy suddenly butted in.

 _No. Fuck off. This is my one chance to make a friend!_

"Bella." She corrected him.

"I'm Mike." He grinned.

Mike obviously had the hots for her and I didn't blame him. She was as pretty as most of my friends back home and she didn't even wear makeup.

"Hi, Mike." Bella smiled politely.

"Do you need any help finding your next class?" He asked.

 _What am I, invisible? I was going to help her! Grrr!_

"I have Gym." Bella said.

"Me too!" said Mike, "I can show you the way."

"Oh, I have a study hall next. I signed up for a sport so I don't have to take Gym." I blurted out, desperate to get a word in.

"You did? Already?" Mike asked me.

"Yeah, I signed up for track. I was a running champ back home." I explained.

The attention felt good after a week of being ignored.

"Uh, Alex is new here too. Just came in last week." Mike explained to Bella as we walked out the door and started down the sidewalk together.

"Ali." I corrected him.

Mike wasn't good at nicknames, I guess.

"Really?" Bella sounded interested.

"Yeah, I moved from Nevada."

"I lived in California til I was ten." Mike shrugged, "Guess we're all from sunny states."

"I miss the sun." Bella sighed.

"Me too." I groaned, "It's so cold here. Everyone's making fun of me for shivering."

"I thought it was because- Never mind." Mike smartly decided to shut up after I shot him a look.

Bella suddenly looked a bit scared, "I haven't gotten made fun of yet."

"Oh! They probably won't. I was kind of a jerk on the first day and I guess I egged them on." I admitted.

"Hey, that reminds me. What happened with Edward Cullen? You stab him with a pencil or something?" Mike asked.

 _I guess I'm not the only one who noticed._

"Yeah, what was his problem?" I asked too.

Bella sighed, "I have no idea."

"I guess he just didn't want someone sitting next to him or something. He seems like a loner."

"Yeah, maybe." Mike agreed.

"Oh, I gotta go. Study hall's right here. See ya later!" I gave a small wave and turned to walk to my building.

I suppressed the urge to do a happy dance as I skipped into study hall.

 _I have a friend I have a friend I have a friend!_

* * *

 **I don't understand why people make Bella such a bitch in their fanfictions. She's genuinely a kind person. I guess they haven't read the books or maybe it's essential to their plot.**

 **Now you have an idea on where we're at in Twilight. I'm going through the entire book series in this fanfiction, and maybe a bit after it, too. I'm trying to zoom forward as fast as I can without leaving important things out.**

 **Hmm, why was that smell familiar? I wonder!**


	4. Chapter 4

**It took me a long time to crank this chapter out because my internet was being wonky and I couldn't get to Google Docs. That and the fact that I'm lazy. :P**

* * *

 _"All we've ever done_  
 _We've ever called our own_  
 _Is gone_  
 _This lonely place is all we'll ever know_  
 _Longing somewhere far from home_  
 _I'll need your hand to hold"_ \- Madeon, Zephyr.

* * *

Chapter 4

I was buzzing with happiness when I got home. However, that happiness was short lived when I saw my mom was home early.

"O-oh…?" I stammered, still standing in the doorway. I didn't notice her car when the bus dropped me off.

"Sweetie, I know you've been upset. I took off work so we could spend time together." My mom smiled gently and I suddenly noticed how tired she looked.

"Oh." I repeated, not sure what to say.

"I thought we could go shopping! I don't know about you, but my wardrobe is a bit lacking for this weather." She laughed.

"Okay." I shrugged.

I only accepted because I really needed a waterproof jacket.

"Do you have homework you need to do first, or-?"

"No, no. I'm good." I assured her and sat down my backpack on the kitchen table.

* * *

"We don't have to only get clothes, you know." My mom murmured as she drove through Port Angeles, "You can get anything you want."

I looked up from texting Kirsten from the back seat. I usually ride in the front, but I wanted to show that I was still mad at her. I wasn't saying much to her as we drove, either. This must have made her take drastic measures. When you give me freedom to get whatever I want, I'll probably buy the whole store.

"Alright." I grinned.

 _She makes me go to a shitty school, I drive her bankrupt. Seems fair._

"Oh, stop there!" I pointed at a clothing store that looked promising to me.

"You sure?" My mom frowned as if something was wrong with my choice.

"Yeah?" I replied cautiously.

"Well, I thought you would want to go to a more... _sophisticated_ place."

"What's wrong with this one?" I stared at the store, trying to figure out what her problem was.

Then it hit me. This wasn't like the cute, preppy stores I used to shop at with my friends in Nevada. The clothing displayed on the mannequins were not as expensive and bright, but practical and only a little fashionable.

"Well, we're not in Nevada anymore. I don't need short-shorts, I need coats." I explained slowly.

I honestly don't know why this particular store called to me. I guess I just really wanted that waterproof jacket. After all, this store seemed like it would have many to choose from. Eventually, my mom just shrugged and pulled up to it. I was picking through the coats when I saw a bright pink one. It hurt my eyes just to look at it and I moved the hanger to side, repulsed by it.

My mom furrowed her brow and took the jacket off the hanger, holding it up to me.

"Ali, I thought you'd like this one."

I snorted and pushed it away.

"Mom, I'd blind people with something that bright."

"That didn't stop you in Nevada."

"Well, in Nevada, it's bright and would fit right in. Unfortunately, we're in Washington now." I sassed and went back to going through the coats.

We hit every store that struck my fancy and surprisingly, there weren't that many. It was in a lingerie store when I realized what was wrong with me. I used to love shopping for sexy underwear, but that was when I could sleep in it or wear it around my room on the weekends. Now it seemed too chilly and just... pointless. A heavy, sad feeling slithered into my stomach when I realized how different my life was now. I couldn't do most of the things I could before. The weather wouldn't let me. I was glad to get out of that lingerie store because I was straining to find anything appealing and it was awkward to be in there with my mom.

I got some bean bag chairs at another store. I would have to fill them myself, but I was okay with that. It would give me something to do. When we were done, it was almost nightfall. If I were feeling like my old self, we would probably shop until midnight. My mom seemed to notice that I was acting weirdly frugal, so I sat in the front seat to make her feel better. She looked really tired, too...

We were almost out of Port Angeles when the car slowed.

I looked at my mom in confusion.

"You didn't get very much today…" She said thoughtfully.

"I got plenty." I assured her, feeling annoyed.

 _It's like she's accusing me. So sorry for not driving us bankrupt this time._

"How would you like a TV for your room?" She grinned and those thoughts immediately ceased.

My mouth dropped open.

"Seriously?!"

"Seriously." She glanced over my shoulder.

I looked out my window and saw we were parked in front of an electronic store.

"Pick out whatever you want, as long as it's not too big."

 _Dammit. She's trying to buy back my love… and it's working._

"Mom, thanks." I smiled and hopped out of the car.

She let me get a flatscreen that was a good size and had it set to be delivered tomorrow. I also got a DVD player and some movies, too. When we got home, I unloaded all of my goodies and tore off the tags happily.

As I was admiring a new jacket, my mom asked, "How has school been?"

I went rigid for a few seconds but swiftly regained my composure, "It was a bit difficult for the first few days, but I already have some friends."

 _I'm fine, mom. Don't pry anymore. I'm fine._

"You can invite them over sometime if you want." Mom said kindly.

 _Damn, she's really going out of her way to make me like her again. Too bad I only have one real friend. I think it'd be weird to ask Bella to come over when we've only had one conversation._

"Maybe later, when I get to know them a bit better." I finally answered my mom.

"Okay, hon." She petted my hair and left to go to the bathroom.

While she was in there, I gathered everything up and brought it to my room.

"I'm gonna go to bed, mom. It's almost nine and I have school tomorrow. Goodnight! Love you!" I shouted and closed the door.

 _I hate it when she pries about my life._

* * *

The next day was so much better. There was flatscreen TV to look forward to installing when school was over and I didn't have to wait for the bus in the hellish freezing rain like yesterday. My raincoat was fuzzy and warm on the inside, so the constant chill in the air didn't bother me as much. I was one step closer to no longer being Brrr Girl.

Another reason today was better was because I had someone to follow around and talk to. Bella seemed to attract a lot of attention, so it was always a bit crowded around her. I lived for social interaction, so that didn't bother me. I was sure Bella was bugged by it though, ha.

All the people around Bella gave me opportunities to make more friends. I had my sights set on two girls: Jessica and Lauren. Jessica seemed to be into fashion and pop culture while Lauren seemed like the typical mean girl. I could tell that she didn't like Bella at all. I think she was jealous of all the boys going after her. I found out that Eric was helping Bella find her classes like he did with me. Mike followed her around too. Eric kept glaring at him. Jesus, he never acted territorial with me. Am I not pretty enough for boys to fight over?! Last I checked, I was pretty fuckin' hot. Well, except for the eyebrows.

At lunch, we all sat together. Lauren kept giving Bella and I unwelcome looks. Mostly Bella, though, because none of the boys bothered to pay much attention to me. At least I had a few good conversations with Jessica.

Bella seemed distracted the whole day and I thought it was because she was tired. She had small bags under her eyes. I noticed her glancing over at another table and followed her gaze. There was a table full of _gorgeous_ people! Seriously! It should be criminal to be that beautiful. Not only were they beautiful, they had amazing fashion sense. They didn't fit into this dinky little school and I wondered what they were doing here. I don't think I noticed them before because I kept my head down to avoid being mocked.

I let out a quiet whistle of admiration. "Damn, who are they?"

Jessica audibly squealed. Bella looked exasperated.

"Yes, gossiping about the Cullens two days in a row!" Jessica crowed.

Another girl- I think her name was Angela- laughed at Jessica and smiled. Angela was quiet, like Bella.

"Okay, okay." Jessica collected herself enough to tell the story, "Those are the Cullens, foster kids living with Dr. Cullen and his wife. They moved down here from Alaska like two years ago. The two blondes are Jasper and Rosalie and they're twins. They've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were young because they're related to her or something. Emmett and and Alice are the ones with dark hair. Emmett and Rosalie are together and Jasper and Alice are together, too. It's super weird because they live together. Oh- where's Edward?"

 _I swear, she didn't even take a breath. It's like she rehearsed this._

"Oh, I know Edward." I said, "I think he might be sick or something. He was acting like an asshole to Bella yesterday."

Bella sank down a little in her seat.

 _Oops. Didn't mean to embarrass her._

"Yeah, he was acting like she punched him or something." Mike laughed.

"Omg what happened, Bella? Spill!" Jessica leaned toward her eagerly.

"N-nothing! I don't know what his problem was! He kept looking at me like he hated me. I wanted to tell him off today but I guess he was just sick, like Ali said." Bella's face was red as a tomato and she looked down to hide it.

 _Aw, poor girl._

"Oh, it's not your fault!" Angela reached over and patted Bella's arm.

Just then, the bell rang.

"We'd better get going to Biology." Angela murmured, gently pulling Bella to her feet and shooting me a look.

 _It's not my fault! I didn't know that Edward was a sensitive subject! Oh jeez, I really hope I didn't make her cry._

Bella's face was shrouded by her hair and I couldn't see if she was crying or not. When Mike jumped up to catch up to Bella, I remembered that I had Biology with them too. I stood up quickly and followed them, staying a few feet behind to give them some space. I felt really bad about bringing that up. I had apologize to her somehow. Then I remembered that Edward wasn't here today and that she'd have no one to sit next to.

I asked Mr. Banner if I could sit next to Bella today since Edward was absent and she might need help. He said he didn't care, so I thanked him and sat down next to her. Bella looked a little startled when I sat down, obviously expecting Edward or something. Luckily, there were no tear marks on her face nor were her eyes puffy.

 _Thank god, I didn't make her cry._

"Sorry, my partner is kind of a jerk and I need to get away from him for a day." I sighed.

We glanced at him and he gave me a panicked look. It looked like he didn't bring his notebook.

 _Too bad, so sad. He doesn't get to mooch off of me today._

I gave him an evil smile when Mr. Banner told us to take notes. As he was lecturing, I glanced over to Bella and saw she was doodling in her notebook instead of taking notes. I already knew about cells and wondered if she did too. Bella didn't seem like the type to neglect her school work.

I scrawled below my notes, " _ **You already learn this?"**_ And nudged her to get her attention.

She saw the message and quickly wrote her own. " _ **Yes. You?"**_

" _ **Yup! In like 8th grade. Haha."**_

" _ **Haha."**_ Bella smiled and went back to doodling, ending our written conversation.

When we were finished with notes, Mr. Banner let us talk freely for the rest of the class period. Before Mike could come over and butt in, I decided now would be a great time to apologize.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened at lunch. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Oh, it's fine." Bella seemed thrown off by my apology.

"I know how it feels to have a bad experience on the first day in a new school and I probably shouldn't have brought it up." I sighed.

"Right, you said people were making fun of you." Bella nodded in understanding, "What happened? Well, if you want to talk about it."

"Um, people called me "Brrr Girl"."

"For being cold and shivering?"

"Well, sort of, but not really." I hung my head in shame, "I yelled at a boy on the bus. He really made me mad and I started shaking 'cause I was so mad and then everyone laughed…" I trailed off.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not like it's your fault. It's mine for being a jerk." I chuckled awkwardly.

Luckily, just as I predicted before, Mike came over and butted in.

"Am I interrupting something?" He stood there awkwardly for a second.

"Uh." Bella looked at me.

"Nah, it's cool." I smiled and invited him over so we could converse about other things.

* * *

 **Wow, Alex. Aren't you spoiled! Her mom is kind of rich and knows that shopping is a weakness of Ali's. Well, it used to be. Can you see her subtly starting to change? I hope so.**

 **It amused me to have her be all sad in a lingerie store for some reason. Oh, no! It's too cold to wear your sexy underwear! Psh, first world problems. XD**

 **I made a friendddddd! Her username is Nahannah and SHE IS A GODDESS OF WRITING. Go look at her stories! Right now! Existential Questions For Vampires and Innocence Fading Fast are my favorites!**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is gonna be short, but don't worry! I'm going to be posting another one super soon. I've been busy with figuring out college plans and driving stuff because I just graduated high school, but now I have nothing to do but write and enjoy my summer. I might stop the song lyrics at the beginning of chapters. I'm putting effort into it even though it's kinda pointless.**

 **I have a tumblr! It's journeythekat! I'm supposed to be using it for posting things to related this story, but lol, I usually just reblog Twilight stuff.**

 **Those song lyrics don't even go with this chapter that well. Wtf am I doing.**

* * *

 _"Does it matter if we change_

 _Does it matter at all_

 _Don't you worry about me, friend_

 _Don't you worry if it doesn't feel the same"_ \- Madeon, La Lune.

* * *

Chapter 5

The rest of the week passed without much incident. I was making progress with Jessica and Lauren. Lauren no longer gave me dirty looks and Jessica sometimes followed me as far as she could to my classes so we could talk. Strangely, I found myself liking Bella more than her. I didn't have to suck up to Bella to get her to like me. She was kind and kept to herself despite her good looks. It was strange to me how she turned out that way. Someone as pretty as her should be flaunting it and using it to her advantage.

I considered asking her to come over for a sleepover like my mom said I could, but decided to wait until next week. It would be less awkward if we had more than a week to get to know each other.

Mike was planning a trip to the beach at La Push the week after me and Bella's unofficial sleepover and I promised to go. After all, I lived close by. I wasn't sure how close my house was but I thought it wasn't too far. I needed to get back in shape for track and I could practice by running there.

Friday was when the week changed. It snowed as we were walking to lunch and I had to hide behind Bella to avoid getting pelted with slushy snowballs. No one wanted to hit her and ruin her first experience with it. I had this dreadful fear that someone from the bus was going to lob one at me and get the Brrr Girl thing going again. I would have to sprint to get to the bus unscathed.

 _Maybe I could ask Bella to give me ride- nah, that's too much to ask._

Bella suddenly started acting weird when we entered the cafeteria. She seemed flustered and only got a soda because she "felt sick". I caught her glancing over to the Cullen table and peeked over, myself.

 _Ah, shit. That's what the problem is._

Eddie was back. I didn't say anything about it, but Jessica noticed.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you." She whispered to Bella excitedly.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" Bella asked nervously.

Jessica looked over to him and I mentally cursed her for bringing him up. I'd avoided talking about him to Bella because I knew it was a touchy subject. Jessica should know, too! She witnessed what happened when I brought him up the last time!

"No, actually. "Jessica said, "I guess he was sick after all. Even if he was mad at you, it wouldn't be your fault. The Cullens don't like anybody… well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him." Bella hissed.

Jessica grinned but complied. Bella glared daggers at her like I had been the whole time. Mike defused the tense situation by declaring his plans for an epic snowball fight in the parking lot after school.

 _Shit! He just made getting to the bus 10x harder!_

I spent the rest of the lunch period brooding about the imminent snowball fight. I was probably going to get hit and be labeled as Brrr Girl again. In my head, I came up with different strategies to get to the bus as quickly as possible.

The walk to biology was relieving but left my strategizing pointless because it was raining. All the slushy snow was being reduced to puddles. Bella seemed pleased, too. Mike kept complaining in disappointment.

I almost sat down next to Bella like I usually did, but fuckin' Edward was in "my" seat. When poor Bella saw him sitting there it looked like she was gonna have a heart attack. Mr. Banner was passing around microscopes to everyone and I knew we were going to work with partners today.

 _FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK FUCK! The one day this week we have to work with partners and Edward decides to fucking show up! Now I have to work with this retard!_

I glared back and forth between Ed-boy and my incompetent partner the entire period. My partner purposely half-assed his part, so I had to keep correcting the idiot. Mr. Banner offered a big-ass onion, known as the "Golden Onion", as a reward for whoever got the highest score on our group papers. I don't know who the hell would even want something like that. What are we supposed to do with it? Eat it like an apple? Ew, no. Display it like a trophy? I'm pretty sure it would rot and stink. That was the most unmotivating reward anyone could ever come up with.

I looked over to Bella to make sure she was doing okay with Mr. Murder Eyes and, to my surprise, Edward was being _nice_ to her.

 _What. The. Hell._

Jessica was going to be so jealous. Edward looked like he was trying to make pleasant conversation with her and they both looked like they were done with the assignment. I would probably be done with it by now if it wasn't my dimwitted partner. I was tempted to lean over and eavesdrop but unfortunately, I couldn't look away from the asshole next to me for a second. He kept messing with the zoom on the microscope and ruining the focus. It would be a miracle if he left this class without being cussed out.

The familiar sweet scent that always seemed to gather around Ed-boy captured my attention and I peeked over at them. Bella looked taken aback by Edward's suddenly warm behavior. She looked like she wanted him to stop talking so she could doodle on her notebook. She was introverted like that.

Edward's eyes flashed over to mine and I quickly looked away in embarrassment, acting like my stupid partner needed help with something. It wasn't untrue because he almost dropped the fucking glass slide on the floor. I barely managed to catch it before it hit the floor and shattered.

"Oh my _fucking_ god!" I groaned loudly at him, "Can you _not_ screw something up every two seconds?!"

I hit him on the shoulder and he cringed back a little.

"Miss Davis!" Mr. Banner snapped.

I turned and saw the whole room was looking at me. I must have been louder than I thought.

 _Shit._

"Outside. Now." He pointed to me and then to the door.

I looked down and walked forward stiffly. A hot flash decided to erupt at that moment and I bit my cheek to suppress the anger that followed it. Mr. Banner gave me a long lecture about how inappropriate cursing was and that physical abuse, no matter how gentle you believe it to be, is wrong and solves nothing. He said he would have to separate us and give me a different partner. I didn't even hit the guy that hard. It was a swat.

 _I've smacked flies harder than that,_ I fumed to myself as I walked to my new seat.

I was lucky Mr. Banner left me off with a warning and didn't send me to the office. I was still embarrassed that everyone saw that happen. It also sucked that I couldn't sit close to Bella anymore. Well, at least I was away from that moron.

The hot flash ended as I strode to my new seat. I knew the girl sitting beside me was mad at me for switching with her friend, but it's not I like I gave a fuck..

I was glad when that class period ended and everyone stopped whispering and glancing over at me with scornful faces. I felt ashamed when I walked up to Mike and Bella. Edward was already gone and Bella was gripping the Golden Onion.

 _What the hell is that poor girl going to do with a giant onion..._

"They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner." Mike groaned.

"I didn't have any trouble with it." Bella said, sounding a tad defensive.

 _It's okay, Bella. I know you're smart._

"I've done this lab before, though." She said afterwards.

"So did I, only my partner back at my old school wasn't a complete moron." I slid into the conversation like a pro, then grumbled, "But I still don't see how I should get in trouble for him being stupid."

Bella smiled a bit insincerely and Mike barked with laughter as we started pulling our raincoats on.

"Yeah, that's classic David. He such an idiot." Mike snorted, "I would've hit him too. How bad did Banner chew you out?"

 _Glad it's not just me. "David" probably needs hit more often, stupid kid._

"Eh, he just told me not to do it again and moved me."

"Yeah, Banner's cool like that." Mike grinned and then frowned slightly, addressing Bella now. "Cullen seemed friendly today."

 _Ooh, someone's jealous. Bella obviously doesn't like him, though. Shame. He's cute. I might have to grab him for myself._

Bella shrugged and murmured, "Guess he was sick last Monday."

She seemed out of it as we walked to our next classes. Mike didn't seem to notice and rambled on as usual.

 _Oh no, I know that far-off look. Edward got to her. Hoo, boy. She's a goner._

I smiled to myself as I split off from them and walked to study hall. As I sat in that class, I wondered how their romance was going to unfold.

 _Would Bella even address her feelings for him? She doesn't seem like the romantic type. Would Edward be right for her?_

A chill ran through me at that thought. Something about Edward unsettled me. There was something weird about him. I would definitely discourage her from dating him.

* * *

 **Another chapter is coming soon after this one! Either today, tomorrow, or the day after that. I'm a mess. XD**

 **Again, my tumblr is journeythekat. I posted drawings of Alex in her wolf form. They're somewhere on there...**

 **My friend on here, known as Nahannah, writes awesome Volturi-based stories that you MUST read. Seriously. They're amazing. She has a tumblr for her fanfictions too! I may have stolen the idea from her. .3. Her tumblr is nahannah. GO LOOK AT OUR BLOGS, WE ARE LONELY AND PATHETIC. Well, just me.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter, as promised! I didn't proofread it that much, so forgive any errors.**

 **I updated the first chapter with some key information. I decided to make Ali a genetic mosaic, or chimera. Basically, she has two different genotypes in her body. Most of her cells have the wolfy chromosome, and the rest are normal. This will be very important further into the story. I also added that what happened to her dad. He died in a car crash. I only updated a small part of the first chapter, so I recommend going back to find where I added the changes and reading that. It's just two or three big paragraphs.**

 **OH LOOK AT THAT, THERE'S NO SONG LYRICS FOR THIS CHAPTER.**

* * *

Chapter 6

I woke up to snow and ice outside. I had to wear, like, three coats to block any chance of coldness seeping through. I was not going to be Brrr Girl again.

Unfortunately, the universe had other plans for me that day. As I was getting off the bus, the same dipshit who started this whole mess dumped a handful of snow down the back of my shirt. I gasped in shock and turned around to deck him. But before I could punch him in the mouth, all hell broke loose.

A big van slid and screeched across the parking lot, heading straight for an orange truck. Bella's truck. And she was standing right there, about to die. The van screeched to a halt when it hit the truck and blocked my view of Bella. All the people in the parking lot who were frozen in horror all clamored over to the vehicle at once.

"Bella!" I shouted with the chorus of frightened voices, the cold snow dripping down my back forgotten. I sprinted over to the truck as fast as I could to make sure she was okay. I had to push through people to even get a peek. The whole time I felt sick to my stomach.

 _Am I going to see a dead body? The body of my friend?_

An image of her covered in blood and disfigured appeared in my mind, adding to my sick feeling. When I finally saw her, a rush of relief poured through my soul.

She's okay.

Bella was lying on the pavement and looked disoriented. Then I noticed Edward was with her. The relief was replaced with concern.

How did he get there? I didn't see him.

Bella tried to sit up, but someone yelled, "Don't move," and Edward gently pushed her back down again. I frowned at the gesture, unsure of how I felt about this.

 _Did he save her? How?_

I started shaking and felt another hot flash coming on.

 _I can't deal with this._

I turned around abruptly and pushed out of the crowd. The sirens of an ambulance were audible as the hot flash overtook my body. I sprinted to the nearest school building and hid out in the bathroom, shaking, crying, and trying to forget the image my imagination supplied me with: The one of Bella covered in blood. I tried to force it out of my mind, but it warped around instead. I kept seeing Edward, leaning over her menacingly with his fist raised and ready to deliver another blow to her already swollen face.

It reminded me of something I'd rather forget. My mom was very depressed after my dad died and went around dating a lot of men, trying to find one like him. Some were abusive. I remember walking into the living room and seeing a boyfriend beating her when I was eight. No matter how much I suppress those memories, they always pop up sooner or later.

Another suppressed memory kept trying to make itself known to me, but I pushed it back down with all my might. I didn't want to think about two shitty things in one day. But this situation kept making me think about my friend and the strange man she went with that night…

 _SHIT! Shut up, brain! I don't want to think about it!_

I gripped the edge of the sink and stared into my own gray eyes. I willed the heat to die down, and shook violently instead. The stress was getting to me.

 _I'm gonna throw up._

And I did just that, into a sink, right as a girl walked in.

 _FOR FUCK'S SAKE!_

She saw me vomiting and immediately turned around and left. After I rinsed the puke down the sink, I took out my phone and called my mom. It went straight to voicemail. I left a message, asking for her to pick me up, and briefly described what happened in the parking lot. I told her the stress made me feel sick.

She texted back a few minutes later, telling me she was busy at work and couldn't leave. There was no one to pick me up, so she told me to just "hang in there" for the day.

"Well, fuck you, then." I snarled at her text and shoved my phone back in my pocket.

I had no choice but to do as she said. I couldn't hang out in the bathroom forever. Eventually, I slunk out of there and went to my classes, though in a dazed state. I kept worrying about Bella. I heard they put a neck brace on her before the ambulance drove her to the hospital.

 _Did she break her neck?_

 _What was Edward doing with her? He probably pushed her out of the way. My stupid subconscious is far too suspicious of boys like him. I bet he's a good kid. Maybe they_ should _date after all._

 _Since when did she hang out with Edward? Well, I guess since yesterday, when she had stars in her eyes after she talked with him. They'd make a cute couple._

 _But what if I'm right? What if he hurts her? I should at least tell her to be careful with him. Something about him gives me the willies._

 _How can she stand the way he smells? Well, I guess it_ is _a sweet scent. If they start dating, I'm gonna tell her to ask him to lay off the cologne. He uses far too much. It smells familiar, though. It smells almost like-_

I was snapped out my vortex of thoughts by Lauren asking me a question.

"So, Ali, are you bulimic?"

I blinked a few times in surprise. Mike, Eric, and Jessica all drove to the hospital to make sure Bella was okay. It was only Angela, Lauren, and me at the the lunch table today. Angela looked at me, eager for my input.

 _What sort of question was that?!_

"What? Why?" I looked at Lauren in confusion.

"Weren't you throwing up in the bathroom this morning?"

"Who told you that?"

"Is it true?"

"Well, yeah, but I didn't barf because I'm bulimic, I barfed because Bella almost getting killed this morning really freaked me out." I snapped in irritation.

"Well, there's a rumor going around about you having bulimia or anorexia, now." Lauren shrugged.

"Great." I grumbled.

Lauren was looking at me with a slightly disappointed scowl. I gave her a questioning look and she quickly turned it into a friendly smile. In fact, the smile was a little too friendly to be genuine. She was looking very suspicious and I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be the one who spread the rumor.

Angela started talking to us about Bella and I couldn't help but listen eagerly, desperate for any good news about her. I had been zoning out the whole day and didn't hear much about what happened.

"I was really worried about Bella, too." Angela sighed, " I'm glad Edward was there to pull her out of the way." She added.

 _So he did save her. I'm just a nervous wreck, ugh._

"Tyler's in worse shape than she is. Did you see him? He was bleeding! It was gross." Lauren shook her head in disgust right as the bell rang.

I walked to biology, only with Angela this time. We walked in silence until she told me, "I'll try my best to put out that rumor about you."

"Thanks." I smiled at her gratefully.

I was lucky to have befriended someone like her. She was smart and quiet, but when she did talk, people listened. That, and she's writes articles for the school paper. There was no better person to spread the truth about me.

The next day, and the following week, Bella was back in school without a scratch on her. Tyler kept following her around and apologized literally every five minutes. Bella tried her best to tell him it was alright, but he couldn't seem to accept that. He followed her everywhere, barraging her with tons of apologies for almost squishing her with his van. He even sat at our lunch table. Eric and Mike were purposely trying to show him that they didn't want him there. He was oblivious to their obvious hatred.

Bella also went on and on about how Edward was a hero for risking his life to save her. All of this was annoying the crap out of me. Sure, there were a lot more people hanging around us, but a lot of them kept asking me if I was bulimic and I was getting sick of it. Occasionally, I would catch Lauren grinning after I was asked if I had an eating disorder. She was definitely responsible for the rumor.

 _Bitch._

She was no longer on my dwindling list of friends.

I knew, with all of this stress, that I wouldn't be able to manage track too. I quit and had to have my study hall replaced with gym. Oh well, at least I had some more quality time with Bella and Mike.

Strangely, after saving Bella's life, Edward was cold shouldering her. Sometimes I would catch her staring at him in Biology or from across the cafeteria. She was still enamored with him. What was his fucking problem?! He was perfectly nice to her the day before the accident, and suddenly he's a dick again!

Day by day, I noticed Bella slumping further into her seat. Either Tyler's insistent apologies were exhausting her, or she was depressed about Edward. Not even Mike's happy attitude seem to really cheer her.

The snow was all gone and never came back, so there was no risk of having snow dumped down my shirt again. However, we did have a field trip to a greenhouse for Biology. We just looked at plants and compost and worms. It was pretty pointless.

Mike asked Jessica to prom while we there, though. I was hanging out with them in the front of line as we moved through the greenhouse. I wasn't listening to a word they were saying. I was looking back at Bella, who was talking with Edward a few people behind us. It'd been awhile since they last spoke and they were so cute together…

Jessica's squealing snapped me out of my reverie. "Yes! Of course I'll go to prom with you!" She giggled in glee and hugged him.

 _Shit. When is prom? I hope it's not soon. I don't have a dress or a date or anything!_

I heard a shuffle behind me and turned to see Edward pulling Bella back up before she fell over. She must've tripped.

"Can you at least watch where you walk?!" Edward growled at her. Then he put his hands in his pockets and glanced around nervously after scolding her, afraid someone would catch him being a douche. I frowned at him when his eyes met mine, showing my express disapproval at his behavior.

 _That's it, I definitely won't let her date him._

"Listen, I know I'm being rude all the time, but I just think it's the best way-" Edward attempted to redeem himself when he caught me glaring at him, but was interrupted by Jessica.

"Bella! Guess who just asked me to prom!" She called excitedly and ran over to her.

Edward immediately- and rudely- slipped away. We glared at each other as he passed me. Jessica was making sure Bella was totally cool with her going to prom with Mike while I watched Edward slowly make his way to the exit. After assuring Jess that there was absolutely "zero weirdness" between them (because Bella obviously never liked Mike that way), Bella excused herself from Jessica's presence and ran ahead to catch up with Edward.

 _Ah, shit._

I jogged through the crowd of students to follow them. Edward and Bella were already halfway to the bus by the time I got out of the greenhouse. One of the dickheads from the bus tried throwing worms at me, but Mr. Banner caught them and yelled at them. Haha.

Anyways, when I finally got to them, the short Cullen girl- I forget her name- was asking Bella if she was going to ride with them.

"No. Our bus is full." Edward snapped with venom before tapping on the bus doors so the driver would let him in.

"Prick." I muttered, stopping to stand by Bella as his bus doors opened..

Edward's head whipped around and gave me an irritated look. I looked right back, unashamed, as he angrily turned back around and got on the bus. The small Cullen girl looked at me, shocked but amused.

"He's impossible." She mouthed to me and rolled her eyes as she boarded the vehicle. Another Cullen kid, a blond boy, followed after her.

On the bus ride back I told Bella that I saw the look in her eyes when she interacted with Edweird- I mean Edward-, and that he really wasn't good for her. He was a huge asswipe. Bella agreed with me; she thought he was being a jerk too. In fact, our entire group agreed with that. She made it clear that she had no intention to date him.

 _Good,_ I thought with relief, _No more Edward drama._

Oh, how I was wrong.

* * *

 **Edward was such an asswipe during the first part of Twilight, gah.**

 **I'm mixing parts of the book with parts of the movie for this story. Just 'cause.**

 **Yes, Alex's mother was abused for a short while. Ali only walked in on it once, but it still affected her. Her mother did the healthy thing and stopped seeing those abusive men, but she's afraid to date again because of the abuse she's suffered. I didn't mention more about that because Ali just pushes all the bad thoughts away and tries to live in the moment. She doesn't like being sad, but who does? Just thought you guys would wanna know that. Idk.**

 **Look at my tumblr, journeythekat. Pls. I'm an attention whore. There's art of Alex in her wolf form _somewhere_ on there. I also posted a Volturi playlist, if you like the Volturi. No? Okay. I cri.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sooooo I decided to continue on instead of skipping ahead! Partly because the majority of people told me to keep going, but also because I had this chapter halfway done. Sorry to those who wanted the skip. :/**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

My mom was pestering me to invite some friends over, so I finally worked up the courage to ask Bella over for a sleepover. The whole morning I was buzzing with anticipation. I don't know why I was so excited at the idea of having Bella over, I just was. I ambushed the poor girl as she was walking out of English, her first period class.

"RAH!" I jumped out from behind her and grabbed her shoulder.

The poor thing nearly had a heart attack.

 _Mental note: Dial down the hyperactiveness today._

I proposed the sleepover idea to her after I apologized for scaring her and she recovered.

Bella was confused at first. "Why ask me? No offense, I just thought you would choose Jessica, is all." She shrugged.

"She's busy with Mike that night," I reminded her, "and I'm mostly asking so my mom will quit asking me if I have any friends."

Bella smiled, understanding. "Charlie keeps asking me to go out more."

I snorted at that. Most parents try to keep their kid _from_ going out.

 _Poor, poor introverted Bella. The struggles._

"I guess I'll go, but only as long as you promise not to sneak-attack me again." She finished with a small grin.

"Deal! My mom will pick us up at the beach. We could probably walk to my house, though. It's really close. I don't think you'll want to, though..."

"You live on the reservation?" Bella looked baffled.

"Yeah, I'm part Quileute. My mom had to move us to Seattle for her job and when she got in touch with my relatives, they offered us a place to stay."

"Seattle… That's a long commute." She mumbled.

"Eh, she doesn't mind it. We got a free house, after all."

"I never realized you were Quileute. You don't look it at all." Bella stared at me in fascination.

"Yeah, I'm really only ⅓ Quileute, though. I guess you can sort of tell by, um, my eyebrows." I flushed and gestured to my disgustingly hairy brow.

"I guess." She laughed.

I changed the embarrassing subject by telling her all about how I had a big TV in my room that we could watch movies on. I had an old laptop we could browse the internet on if movies didn't entertain us enough. Bella admitted to having a crappy, slow computer at home and didn't have much experience with real computers. She'd like to see what a laptop was like. I also had those bean bag chairs she could sleep on (I still had to fill them, but I wasn't going to tell her that) or she could sleep in the guest room next to my room.

Jessica caught wind of our slumber party plans and was enthusiastic about it, even though she wouldn't be going. She kept hinting that she would like to come over some time, but I think she just wanted to see how rich I was and take advantage of my quality electronic devices. She asked me about what job my mom had and how much she made and bla bla bla. Apparently, I was considered rich to these country folk.

Bella, Jessica, and I all walked to lunch, talking about the beach trip and me and Bella's slumber party. I knew something was wrong with Bella when she only got a bottle of lemonade; She does that when she's upset about something. I looked over to the Cullen table to see if Edward was giving her the evil eye, but he wasn't there.

 _Come on, Bella! Wtf! You said you were going to avoid him! He's not there and that's a good thing, you idiot! Stop sulking about him being- Oh wait, there he is._

I noticed him sitting alone at a different table. He was intently staring at Bella, but noticed me and shot a glare my way. I just smirked.

 _Haha, prick._

Jessica saw me looking at him and followed my gaze.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you again!" She informed Bella excitedly before I could shush her, "I wonder why he's sitting alone today."

 _Noooo! Not you too! Shit! Dammit! Shit-dammit! I thought we all agreed that he was bad for Bella! Stop shipping them, Jessica! Damn you!_

Bella immediately straightened up and looked around wildly for him. Their gazes met, and Edward motioned her over with his pointer finger. Then he fucking winked at her. I was so angry and shocked that I couldn't speak.

 _I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill her. I'm gonna kill them both! Why can't this dickhole make up his mind on whether he likes Bella or not?!_

"Does he mean you?" Jessica asked Bella in disbelief.

 _BELLA IS A SWEET GODDESS, JESSICA. DON'T YOU EVER DOUBT HER ABILITY TO UNWITTINGLY WOO MEN! I just wish she would choose a man who could decide whether or not he effing likes her!_

"Maybe he needs help with his Biology homework. Um, I'd better go see what he wants." Bella muttered.

"Bella," I murmured to her in warning. She either ignored me or didn't hear me because she eagerly traipsed off to Edward without sparing me a glance.

Jessica and I stared at her as she sat down with Edward, her staring in shock and me in anger.

 _How could Bella do this?! How could Jessica just let her go over there?! How could I let her go over there?! What the fuck is Edward's deal?! What the fuck is Bella's deal?! I could have sworn we all agreed that Edward was a douche-nozzle and Bella shouldn't put up with him! What is she thinking?! Ugh, why must love be so blind?_

This situation made me start reminiscing about my first boyfriend. In fact, he was the only boyfriend I'd ever had. For the longest time, I was so pissed off with the way he broke up with me that I wanted nothing to do with men. He had curly blonde hair, green eyes, and a grin that made my heart sputter. He was so beautiful that I was blind to how much of an asshole he was. He broke up with me after we had sex - after he took my virginity and my heart - and decided he was too good for me.

I haven't gotten back into the dating game just yet, and it seemed like I was going to stay out of it for a while, too. I had my sights set on Mike, but he was taking Jessica to the prom.

 _Maybe I could take Tyler? He didn't seem to have anyone to go to the prom with. Would that be pathetic? No one seems to like him and he only hangs around us because he was harassing Bella with apologies._

I glanced over to Bella and Edward's table forlornly as I nibbled on a granola bar. Seriously, how dare they. How dare Bella do this on the day I asked her over for a sleepover. I thought about cancelling it and maybe asking Angela instead.

 _No, I couldn't do that. I can't bail on her just because she decided to hang out with someone I don't like. I don't know Angela as well as Bella, either._

Suddenly, I realized that Lauren was scrutinizing me. Her eyes narrowed and she raised a brow when I caught her eye. I was wondering what the hell her deal was this time when her eyes flickered to my barely-eaten granola bar for a second. What she was doing clicked into place; She thought I wasn't eating it because I was bulimic.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! I'm allowed to eat at whatever pace I choose, Lauren. It doesn't mean I have a goddamn eating disorder!" I snapped at her, calling her out in front of the entire table.

It went silent for second, then Jessica snickered.

"Lauren, she doesn't have bulimia. That's obvious! Look at her." Jess poked my side teasingly, "She's got some meat on her bones."

I let out an offended grunt and swatted her hand away.

"Well, so do you." I half-smiled and poked her back.

"Having a nice rack doesn't mean I'm fat." Jessica frowned, slightly upset.

"Hey, don't be calling my girlfriend fat." Mike draped his arm over Jessica to comfort her.

"I'm kidding, Mike. That is, as long as she was kidding about me being fat."

"You were both were obviously kidding." Angela said a bit loudly, in a voice that demanded we cut it out.

"Pfft, yeah, I was totally kidding about Alex." Jessica relented quickly.

"Ali," I corrected, my knee-jerk reaction to people calling me Alex, "And I never called anyone fat. We're both thin."

"But not unattractively thin." Jessica cut in.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"Okay, then." Lauren snorted.

I knew she would continue to spread the bulimia rumor anyway. Whatever, at least I called her out on acting shitty.

The bell finally rang and I got out of the cafeteria fast. I was so done with today. I thought it was gonna be fun, but noooo. Bella had to abandon our table for Edweird and then Lauren and Jessica decided to act stupid.

I sat in Biology for what seemed like forever, waiting for Bella to show up, I wondered if Bella was going to show up to Biology at all today, or if she would just bail on us to hang out with Eddy-boy. I didn't know what I would say to her if she did show up.

 _Should I be angry? Should I be angry but forgive her? Should I just act like nothing happened?_

I never decided, and I really didn't need to because class started without Bella appearing. Mr. Banner just started to announce what we were going to do when Bella finally burst through the door. Mr. Banner sarcastically thanked her for deciding to attend class at all, and she hurried to her seat with embarrassment written all over her face. Edward didn't show up at all, though. I secretly hoped they had a fight or something.

Mr. Banner went on explaining what we were doing that day, and we were apparently going to find out our blood type. He snatched up Mike's hand in his demonstration and stabbed one of his fingers. I held back a laugh at Mike's expression. It was a mixture of disgust, pain, and curiosity. The teacher dripped some of the blood onto Mike's card when Bella laid her head down on her desk. Well, she almost slammed it, and that's what got everyone's attention. She looked pale, paler than usual, and maybe a little green.

"Bella, are you alright?" Mr. Banner asked.

"I already know my blood type." Bella groaned in a small voice.

"Are you feeling faint?"

"Yes."

 _Bella must be afraid of blood._

"Can someone take Bella to the nurse, please?" Mr. Banner said to the class.

"I'll go." Mike and I both said at the same time.

"No, seriously, Mike. I'll take her. You're still bleeding." I insisted.

"Mr. B!" Mike whined.

Apparently, Mr. Banner did not like being called 'Mr. B,' because he gave Mike a look and I was the one who was bestowed with the great honor of bringing Bella to the nurse. I had to practically carry her even though she said she could walk, but I didn't mind. She was surprisingly light. We were about half way there (if this school had a normal building, we would probably have been there by now, but noooo. This school had to have a retarded layout) when Bella asked for me to stop. I did and she just laid down on the ground. I sat down beside her and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"You gonna throw up?" I asked. She was alarmingly green now.

"Mmmmnn." She moaned.

I wasn't sure if that meant yes, or if she was enjoying the back rub. Then, surprisingly, I _smelled_ Edward in a passing breeze before I even heard him.

"Bella?" He called in the distance.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust, making sure Edward saw it as he strolled up to us.

 _What the fuck is he doing? Didn't they have a fight? Oh, wait. I made that up. Well then he must've ditched! What the fuck is he doing here if he's skipping?! He's going to get caught that way! What a dumbass._

"What's wrong, is she hurt?" Edward asked with concern.

"She got sick in Biology." I snapped at him, hoping he would fuck off.

"Bella, can you hear me?" he ignored my attitude.

"No, go away." She groaned and Edward laughed.

"I'm trying to get her to the nurse, but I think she's about to throw up." I sighed in annoyance at him.

"I'll take her."

" _No_ ," I insisted, "Let her take a break and then _I'll_ resume taking her."

"It'll be more comfortable in the nurse's office." Edward suddenly scooped her up without warning, "Go back to class."

"Edward!" I growled, "You're gonna make her barf all over you!"

 _And I hope she does._

He just laughed and said, "She'll be fine," as he walked away quickly, carrying her bridal style.

 _Damn, she is light. He's carrying her with no problem._

"Go back to class." Edward said again sternly.

" _Fine._ " I snarled and did as he said.

On the way back, though, I ran into Mike carrying another sick dude. Mike kept insisting that he could support him, but he was clearly struggling. I took over for him and supported the boy with ease.

"Woah, you're strong." Mike laughed.

"Yeah. I'm athletic." I replied.

"What happened with Bella?" Mike asked.

"Edward showed up." I grumbled.

"Woah, weird. What is that dude's problem? Why does he keep hanging around Bella?"

"I dunno. I think he likes her now, but that's idiotic because he was an asshole to her at first. I really don't think she likes him. He's stupid." I said, remembering how Bella told Edward to go away just a few minutes ago.

"Totally stupid." Mike muttered in agreeance.

We got to the nurse's office and, lo and behold, Edward was still with Bella.

 _What a surprise._

They sidled out of the room as we set the other boy, whose name I heard was "Lee," down on a cot. The nurse laid a cool cloth over his head, then Mike and I left the room. Bella and Edward were right outside the door talking.

"You look better." Mike addressed Bella with suspicion.

"Keep your hand in your pocket." Bella insisted, confusing me at first before I realized she was talking to Mike.

 _Duh._

"It's not bleeding anymore." He grumbled, then added, "You going back to class?"

"I'd just have to come back again." Bella laughed awkwardly.

"Right."

"You're still going to the beach and sleeping over this weekend, right?" I asked her.

"Sure, I promised you I'd come." She confirmed. I relaxed at the promise.

 _You're still gonna have fun with her. She still wants to come._

"Cool," Mike cut in, "We're meeting at my dad's store at ten."

I glanced over to Edward with hostility, making sure he knew he wasn't welcome. He didn't seem to care.

"I'll be there." Bella reconfirmed.

"See you in Gym, then." Mike shuffled toward the door.

I walked after him reluctantly, unsure if I should leave Bella alone with Edward. She gave me a smile of reassurance and I forced myself to follow Mike out.

She never did show up at Gym, though, and that made me worry.

The next day, Friday, I found out that she just got sick again yesterday, so Edward drove her home. I wondered if she was lying, though. They could've skipped the rest of school and banged for all I knew. Edward wasn't at school and Bella seemed a bit bummed about it. I tried to cheer her up by building up hype for our sleepover. I promised her an awesome time. It didn't seem to help.

Her bad day was made worse when we overheard Lauren being snarky in the hallway.

"I don't know why Bella doesn't just sit with the Cullens, now." She sneered.

"Hey, Lauren?" I called from behind her.

Lauren jumped and turned around, then paled a little when she saw Bella standing next to me. She didn't know Bella was standing right there. Bella's face was bright red and I was probably putting her in an uncomfortable situation, but I was sick and tired of taking Lauren's shit, and I certainly wasn't tolerating it when it was directed at Bella.

"Yeah?" Lauren replied in a bitchy, defensive tone.

" _Fuck off._ "

* * *

 **Hey, Lauren?**

 **Yeah?**

 _ **Fuck off.**_

 **I just came up with that on the spot and decided to end it there. XD But srsly, Lauren just needs to fuckin' stop. Dammit Lauren. In the next chapter they shall finally go to the beach and have the sleepover! There should be two or three more chapters after this one, then I can skip ahead. Trust me, that's when all the important details end and it will be appropriate to.**

 **Also, Ali seems to not be having very many hot flashes lately. Maybe she's learning to control them...? LOL NAH I just completely forgot to add any in this chapter because I was rushing to get it done. XD I might update it later and add one in. :P**

 **I don't usually beg, but please review! I've just been lacking in motivation and reviews would really help right now. Thank you!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone following, favoriting, and reviewing this story! It really inspires me to keep writing.**

 **Like Stars in the Sky: Thank you! It makes me really happy that you think I'm doing a good job. As for how she is controlling herself and not phasing, I do have an excuse for that and I'm glad you asked! When she has those hot flashes, that is her body getting ready to phase. She should have phased a long time ago, actually. However, since she is a genetic chimera (two genomes in one body), the parts of her body that don't have the wolf gene aren't allowing her to phase. The heat from her hot flashes are killing those few groups of cells that don't have the gene, though, like a fever kills off bacteria; Then her wolf-cells fill in the places where her normal cells died. So, she is slowly but surely progressing to the point where she** ** _can_** **phase. Make sense?**

 **As for Sam, you'll just have to read this chapter to see if he notices anything about her. ;) (Also sorry this is so late! I know you wrote that review ages ago but I'm just now got the motivation to finish this chapter.)**

* * *

Chapter 8

Thudding was the only thing I could hear, and it was coming from two different places. My heart was making a "thud-swoosh, thud-swoosh, thud-swoosh" noise in my ears, while my feet were more of a "thud-smack, thud-smack, thud-smack" against the road. It had been a long time since I last went running, but I didn't feel out of shape at all.

 _Weird. Or just good luck, I guess._

I was currently running to La Push beach to meet up with everyone. I guessed that it was maybe a 10-20 minute run from my house to there. Mike said that everyone else would be meeting at his dad's store at 10, which was maybe 30 minutes away, so I left at 10:10 just to be safe. The scent of trees, rain, and wet asphalt filled my lungs with every controlled breath. Rain and wet asphalt were rare but pleasant scents in Nevada, so I always enjoyed running after a storm went by. At least in Washington, I get to enjoy these scents on a daily basis.

 _I wonder if they'll become mundane now that I smell them on a daily basis. Washington just has to ruin_ everything _for me, doesn't it?!_

Heat surged through my veins and I growled in annoyance.

 _Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, Ali! You dumbass! If you were in Nevada, you'd keel over from the heat! Be grateful it's still a little cool out even though it's actually sunny today!_

I realized I was sprinting down the road like a madman and slowed myself down. I didn't want to pass out on the side of the road like I did one time. It was hot, I was hot, and I was sprinting angrily down the road until everything went black. I definitely did not want that to happen again.

 _Think positive thoughts! Um, Bella is coming over tonight. That'll be super fun. And you get to go to the beach. It's sunny today. Maybe the water will be warm. If it's cold, you can still cool yourself down when you get a hot flash._

The heat was diminishing and I breathed a sigh of relief. I concentrated on my breathing to keep my mind off of other anger-inducing thoughts. The whoosh of my breath was calming and let me know that I was in control, that I was alright, that everything was going to be okay. After a while, I swore I heard someone else breathing too. I looked around wildly, trying to figure out who was breathing creepily slow breaths, before I realized that I was hearing the ocean. I blushed in embarrassment and felt glad that no one else was around to see me act like a psycho.

I came to a fork in the road and headed down the one that sounded closer to the beach. I was right and it was practically right there the moment I turned. Gleefully, I hurried my pace and ran toward the water. I stopped when I set foot on what should've been sand. Instead, it was big smooth rocks.

 _Are you kidding me?! What sort of beach doesn't have sand? Seth freaking lied to me about the damn sand castles. The water isn't even blue, either. It's fucking gray, just like the sky and the sidewalks and the mist and the rain and everything that makes this stupid place a nightmare._

Should I even bother to alert you readers that I'm having a hot flash? It should be obvious. I desperately pulled off my backpack, then my clothes, before dropping them on the rocks and rushing into the waves. Don't worry, I wore my swimsuit under my clothes, I'm not skinny dipping.

The water was ice cold, which felt good and relieving for about 3 seconds. Then I began screaming bloody murder and fled that wretched experience. I dug my towel out of my bag and wrapped it around me, shivering violently.

"F-f-fuck." I grumbled to myself, my teeth chattering.

I was offended that they even called this place a beach. Beaches were warm, sandy, and sunny. I looked up at the sky and sighed.

 _Okay, so it has one of those things. But that's only for today!_ Real _beaches have all of those requirements year-round, more or less! This place is a horrible lie!_

I flinched and waited for the heat to come. It never did. Probably because my body knew that I may just consider jumping into the frozen water again if I got too heated. Right now, I wasn't sure what was better: Being too hot or being too cold. I almost wished I would get a stupid hot flash to warm me up. I settled for wringing out my hair and pulling my clothes on, though. I laid my towel on a driftwood log, sat down and texted Kirsten a little to pass the time. I asked her how she was and told her about the sucky beach as I let the sun warm me up. She never replied, though, so I sorted through rocks instead as I waited for my friends.

By the time they arrived, I had a few tall piles. I recognized Mike's car as it drove by and watched them park a distance from where I was. Abandoning my rock piles and grabbing my things, I ran over. They were all hanging around a bunch of driftwood logs, not unlike the one I had previously been sitting on. Mike was showing off blue flames from the driftwood to Bella.

"Doesn't that happen when the fire is really hot?" I asked.

"No, it's because of the salt." Mike responded, really irritated for some reason.

"Sorry." I scoffed and plopped myself down between Bella and Jessica.

Mike finished preparing the weird, salty campfire and scowled when he saw that he couldn't sit next to Bella. She was on the end of the tree and I was sitting on her other side. Too bad, so sad for him.

There were two other kids I didn't know that some guy named Lee had apparently invited. We all talked around the warm fire for while until Lauren decided to bitch again.

"Why is your hair wet?" She asked in a disgusted tone.

"Because I decided to test the water. It's fucking freezing, by the way." I snapped back.

Everyone laughed a bit at that. Whether they were laughing with me or at me, I couldn't really tell. Since I had confirmed that the water was way too cold to swim in, some of the guys suggested hiking to some tide pools. Bella got up to follow them, and I felt really uncomfortable being alone with Queen Bitch and a bunch of people I didn't know, so I followed after her.

I was glad I did because she looked like she was going to trip over every little pebble in her way. How she survived being this clumsy and how I never noticed it, I don't know. I ended up catching her multiple times and having to lead her through the forest holding her hand. The poor girl…

Once we reached the tide pools, she sort of wandered off and did her own thing. I let her, but didn't stray too far. I was afraid she'd fall in or something. I could see why she came just to look in the tide pools. They were like big puddles that housed an aquarium. Pretty fish were trapped inside them and swam around sea weeds and gorgeous shells. I took off my shirt and gathered some shells in it, having left my bag at the campfire. The group started to head back because they were getting hungry, so I led Bella through the forest with one arm and clutched my shirt-full of shells to my chest in the other. Without the sunlight, the woods were cold. Wearing a bikini top was definitely a mistake. I let that be known to poor Bella, who had to endure my angry cursing until we were in the sun again.

When we got back, Mike handed out food and soda to everyone. I was grateful because I was starving and freezing. I dumped the seashells out on my towel and poked through them when something pinched me. I flung whatever it was away with a screech. It landed next to Mike and everyone stared at it for a second. It was just a pinkish snail shell, and I felt really embarrassed for a second, until Mike picked it up and gasped.

"It's a hermit crab!"

Everybody gasped as well and kept trying to see it. Mike wrestled with Tyler for a second and the shell flew out his hand. It landed smack dab in the middle of the fire. Tyler shuffled away guiltily as Mike dropped to his knees and pretended to mourn. It was actually pretty funny, except for the fate of the poor crab.

"Rest in peace, Hermie. You'll always be in my heart." He fake sobbed.

I snorted and looked at Bella to see her reaction. She was looking away, toward a group of approaching boys. They all had long dark hair, except for one really beefy dude. I realized they were Quileute boys and scanned them again to look for Seth. He wasn't with them.

Surprisingly though, another boy came bounding up to us. He stopped right next to Bella and asked her, "You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?"

"Bella," she corrected, exasperated.

 _I feel your pain, Bella. No one calls me by the right name either._

"I'm Jacob Black. You bought my dad's truck." He smiled and shook her hand.

"Oh, youre Billy's son! I should probably remember you."

"No, I'm the youngest of the family. You'd remember my older sisters."

"Rachel and Rebecca!"

I felt awkward sitting there, not really a part of the conversation and had nothing to add. I just played with my shells absentmindedly as they blabbed about their families. I suddenly noticed Tyler sitting alone and remembered prom was coming up.

Well, it's now or never.

I nonchalantly gathered up my shells and made sure my boobs looked good in my bikini, then strolled over to him and sat down.

"Uh, hey Ali." He gave me a little wave even though I was, like, right there next to him. He was trying not to look at my chest, but I caught him glancing down once.

"Hey, Tyler." I smiled sweetly, "What's up?"

He shrugged and looked out toward the water, "You know. Chillin'."

"Same here." I shrugged back.

Lauren's obnoxious voice cut through the air and I grimaced. She was asking Bella how she knew Jacob and was obviously jealous. She then noticed me next to Tyler and gave me a mean look. I gave one right back.

 _What, does she own a monopoly on all the boys here? She's such a hoe._

"Do you want to go to prom with me?" I finally asked Tyler.

He looked shocked for a moment, and then said, "Lauren already asked me…"

"Oh. Well could you let me know if you change your mind?"

"Um, sure?"

"Cool. Thanks." I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before standing up and sauntering back to where Bella was.

Was. I have no idea where she and Jacob went, but they were gone. Lauren was now giving me an extreme death glare and I just smiled back. There was no way Tyler was going to prom with that rabid bitch when he could go with me instead. Our talk was super chill. I bet Lauren threatened to bite his head off if he didn't go, either that or she offered to suck his dick or something. If I were him, I wouldn't risk getting an STD. Yuck.

"What the hell, Alex?! You kissed my boyfriend!"

I looked up in surprise. Lauren must have walked up to me when I was putting my shells in my bag.

"On the cheek. And I didn't know he was your boyfriend, jeez. I didn't even know you asked him to prom." I answered honestly.

 _If I knew they were dating I never would have considered asking. I've raised some hell now. Ah, shit._

"Didn't know? Yeah, right!"

"Maybe if you worked on your fucking communication skills, we wouldn't have misunderstandings like this." I fumed.

 _Dumb bitch doesn't tell me anything… Not that I care about her life. But_ still _!_

"I need to work on my communications skills? Well how about you work on being less of a sleazy bitch." She huffed and walked away.

"Look who's talking!" I taunted after her.

I really hoped she'd turn around. I've been wanting that stupid whore to fight me since day one. I wanted to knock her teeth out with a rock. Instead, the cowardly slut just flipped me off without even turning around. When I looked back down at my bag, I realized I was fuming. Almost literally, too. If I got any hotter than this, steam would start pouring out of my ears. I stood up, shaking, and stomped toward the woods where the tide pools were.

The big Quileute guy with short hair stared at me as I walked past him.

 _Great, he probably thinks I'm a hoe because Lauren had to throw a hissy fit and make me sound like a slut._

Alone within the cool trees, I threw rocks and sticks as hard as I could, imagining that I was chucking them at Lauren's stupid fucking face. Once I cooled down, I headed back to my bag and threw on my shirt. Right in time, too. My mom came flying down the road and started honking.

 _What's up her ass? She's early._

I was about to go get Bella when I saw her, Jacob, Mike, and Jessica walking back. I waved my arms and she started jogging toward us, being careful not to trip on the stony beach. I got in the front seat and scolded my mother on being so obnoxious.

"Oh, I was afraid it would rain. It got cloudy sooner than I thought it would so I thought I'd come early!" She smiled innocently. Grrr.

And she was right, too. The sky was no longer clear and dark clouds were growing bigger and closer. Great.

Bella grabbed her stuff out of the van and slid into the back seat, greeting my mother much more politely than she deserved. My mom started the drive back, gushing about how pretty and nice she was, and how much fun we were going to have. I felt like puking at how fake she was being.

 _It's not like I'm dating the girl, mom! Tone down the schmooze, Jesus._

* * *

 **I'm trying to write AT LEAST a paragraph for every review I get, now. Hopefully that'll put me in the mood to write. It seems to be working a little.**

 **Mike was really irritated with Ali when she asked about the fire because he literally just explained the salt thing to Bella and then he had to explain it again. R00d, Mike.**

 **Believe it or not, I tricked you poor people into believing hermit crabs exist in Washington. They do not. I completely made that up because I felt like it. XD**

 **No, poor Ali had absolutely no idea that Lauren was dating Tyler. Now she considers that a major turn off. "What kind of idiot would want to be with someone like her?" She fumes to herself. Lol.**

 **Lastly, I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THIS IN LIKE FOREVER. I have no excuse. :(**

 **Next chapter is the sleepover! And possibly more.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Once we got to my house, I guided poor Bella to my room to get away from my unusually over attentive mom. She sat her bag down on the floor and sank down into a freshly filled bean bag chair.

"Sorry about her." I sighed and sat down in one as well.

"It's fine. She's really nice." Bella assured.

 _Pfft, only when we have company._

"If you say so." I laughed, "So, you wanna watch a movie or something? Board game?"

"A movie sounds good." Bella agreed with the first suggestion.

"Okay, your choice." I handed her a stack of DVDs that I bought when my mom and I got the TV.

She seemed uncomfortable with being the one to make all the decisions, but eventually picked out a horror movie about werewolves. I only picked it out from the store because it was advertised everywhere on TV when it first hit theaters.

 _I never pegged Bella for a horror lover, but I guess everyone has a dark side._

About a third of the way through the movie, my mom decided to butt into my room and ask how we were doing. Luckily, there was no gore yet for her to witness us watch. The main character had just started to suspect that her new reclusive neighbor was the cause of all the mysterious murders and disappearances in her town. I was about to get up and slam the door in her face, but she had two bowls of microwave popcorn in her hands. I instantly forgave her and passed Bella her bowl. The popcorn was exceptionally buttery and I approved. I yelled a thank-you to my mom when she finally closed my door.

The movie continued with the main character killing her neighbor, only to find out that he was actually a werewolf hunter and had been seeking out a cure. She destroyed the one hope the world had against the growing werewolf plague. After a failed attempt at resuming her neighbor's research, the werewolves tore her apart. It was unnecessarily gory. The end showed other similarly violent scenes as the werewolves mauled people, spreading the virus and taking over the entire town and, possibly, the world.

As the credits began to roll, I noticed Bella staring down at her popcorn. She looked a little grossed out and I didn't blame her. The CGI was really good.

"Well, I'm glad that it had more plot than gore." I got up to turn off the TV.

"Same here." Bella agreed, "I couldn't watch the ending, though."

"Yeah, it was just murder porn at that point." I snorted and put the DVD back into its case.

After laughing at the clichés of scary movies, we decided to play a board game. I suggested Clue, but Bella had enough of murderous themes I guess. She chose Checkers, and who was I to deny my guest? I won the first time, but Bella won the next two. I conceded on our fourth game. Bella learned all my tricks and I was mentally outmatched. After my three defeats, Bella took pity on me and agreed to play Clue. Believe it or not, she won again.

"You don't have to keep letting me win, Ali." Bella laughed.

"I'm not, honestly! You're too smart." I grumbled.

Bella rolled her eyes, not believing me, "Alright, how about a rematch?"

That time I won, but I was pretty sure she let me. Still, she was the board game master. I made her a "gold medal" that stated so out of red yarn and yellow construction paper when I pretended to go to the bathroom, and she laughed and tried to refuse it when I presented it to her. Eventually, she did accept her title of Board Game Master.

We started talking about crazy text conversations we've had. Then we decided to exchange phone numbers after that, and then she started eyeing the computer on my nightstand.

"Is that a laptop?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah." I flipped it open and started it up.

"Oh, neat! I have an old desktop at home but I'm fairly sure it was used by dinosaurs."

"Ah man, that sucks. I bet it's slow." I sympathized.

"Yep. It takes an hour for it to boot up, and another hour to connect to the internet." Bella complained.

"Well, mine's already on." I laughed and turned the computer around for her to see.

"That's pretty nice."

"Aw, thanks. You can play around on it if you want." I offered.

"No thanks, I'm too clumsy to handle nice things." Bella shrugged awkwardly.

"Bella, really, it's fine. I barely use it anyway. My mom gave it to me before we moved as an apology present. We can play chess on it or read dumb fanfictions on it or something."

I immediately regretted suggesting chess, because _of course_ the Board Game Master agreed to it. And _of course_ she totally annihilated me. Sick of classic board games, I challenged her to a game of Pocket Tanks. The great thing about that game is that neither of us had any idea what any of the moves did, so there was a fifty-fifty chance either of us could win. Some of the attacks were ridiculously powerful and others were just plain stupid. I can't count how many rounds we played of that, nor could I remember the exact amount of wins and losses. That game was one of the best parts of the night.

Bella got tired at around midnight, so I let her go to bed in the guest room after one last round of computer chess. I still lost, even though she was sleep deprived.

"I should have known better than to challenge the Board Game Master." I sighed.

Bella just shrugged with a tired smile, and I let her to go to sleep. I was drifting off in my own bed when I realized I left my laptop in Bella's room.

 _Oh, well. She'll take good care of it. Maybe she'll have some fun with it and look up dumb fanfictions before she goes to bed._

* * *

I woke up the next day to smell of bacon and maple syrup. I checked the time. It was almost 11am. I shuffled tiredly to the kitchen and saw my mom frantically cooking breakfast. There were eggs, bacon, and pancakes. There were plates on the counter next to the stove filled with burnt food. The food that was actually edible-looking was on the table.

"Morning, Ali babe!" my mom sang.

 _This feels weird. I am I dreaming? She never cooks._

I sat down, feeling ravenous from smelling at all this food. But of course, fuckin' mom had to bitch at me, "Don't eat yet, babe! Wake Bella up first, please."

 _Bella? What…? Oh right, sleepover._

"Fine." I grumbled and walked to the guest room door.

I flung it open with more force than necessary because I didn't realize it was so easy to open. Still, I made it look like I did it to be theatrical, then started waving my arms through the air to waft the scent inside her room.

"Wake up and smell the bacon!" I urged her awake.

Bella stirred and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. She looked adorable and sleepy.

"Food?" She mumbled. She was probably as hungry as I was. We didn't eat dinner.

She peeled the covers off herself and that action told me she was getting up. Before I walked out of the doorway, I noticed my laptop sitting on her bedside stand. It looked unharmed. Satisfied, I pranced back to the kitchen table and popped a strip of bacon in my mouth. Mom gave me a dirty look for eating without her, but my mom could suck a dick. I was starved. Bella joined us after a minute or so and my mom told her good morning. Bella returned the greeting and we all ate in silence for a bit.

"My dad's getting me at, uh, three. I think." Bella scrunched up her eyebrows, trying to remember.

"Oh, so soon?" My mom frowned sadly. I don't know why the hell she cared. That was four hours from now.

"Yeah, sorry." Bella gave a sheepish smile.

"No worries. We can watch another movie before you leave, if you want." I offered.

"Sound good." Bella agreed, shoveling a fork full of eggs in her mouth.

As promised, we watched movie after breakfast. It was my choice this time, since I didn't trust Bella to not choose another horror movie. I hoped the werewolf one didn't give her nightmares. I chose a comedy. It had some crude jokes in it, but we mostly chatted through it. I asked her if she wanted to date Edward.

"Well, maybe." She shrugged.

"If you do… be careful. Something about him seems off to me."

Bella just nodded and went back to watching the movie. The credits were rolling when my mom walked in and told us Bella's dad, Charlie, was here to pick her up. She packed up her stuff, we hugged goodbye, and she left. I started helping my mom wash dishes from breakfast, but then she started going on about how much of a "stud" Bella's dad was.

Gross. I'm gonna go barf now. I huffed and walked back to my room. No way was I listening to my mom go on about how much she wants to screw an old guy.

I realized I left my laptop in Bella's room, so I quietly retrieved it before relaxing on my bed. I hoped Bella had a good time. Suddenly, I wondered if Bella used my laptop at all last night. I decided to snoop on the search history. Lo and behold, I found her googling vampires.

 _So she_ does _secretly love horror movies._

* * *

 **Annnnd that's the sleepover! I really hope it was enjoyable. This was a headache to write, tbh.**

 **Ali is maybe slightly gay for Bella. I am all about girl crushes, yo.**

 **Has anyone ever played Pocket Tanks before? I've only played it once with my brother. It went exactly as I described. XD**

 **The next chapters are gonna be hella depressing, btw. Just a warning.**

 **Reviews inspire me to write! I write 1 paragraph per review to get me in the writing mood. So, review, please?**


	10. Debbie Hicks

To the guest named Debbie Hicks:

 **Please stop.** It's really exhausting to check for and remove your "reviews" every time I submit a chapter. I don't know what you're trying to express, but I don't appreciate it. Please stop sending these crazy-ass "chapters". I am the writer of my fanfiction and I don't appreciate you doing this. If you want to write your own stories, create an account on here and post them as an original story, not on mine. Because they certainly don't make sense with my fanfiction.

Thanks.


End file.
